Protecting Children

The Vatican has published the Statutes for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, another important step in the wide-ranging effort by Pope Francis to ensure protection for children and minors in church institutions worldwide. The new statutes give this papal body a formal juridical structure and authority to carry out the pope’s mandate to protect children from sexual abuse. Among other stipulations, they state that the commission is “an autonomous institution attached to the Holy See” and “an advisory body at the service of the Holy Father.” That is of crucial importance for the commission’s independence and effectiveness. It means that the commission does not report to the Roman Curia, nor does it deal with individual cases of abuse. Significantly, the first article gives the commission power to “require an account of the effectiveness of the work” carried out by those other competent bodies in the church.