Today the annual document commissioned by Pope Francis on initiatives for the prevention of child abuse was presented. The Commission calls on local Churches to overcome “a widespread culture of silence and reluctance to report, and a general lack of education and awareness about safeguarding practices.”
Vatican City () – In the Catholic Churches of Asia and the Pacific there are still “difficulties in accurately identifying and addressing the real extent of abuse within ecclesiastical institutions, due to a widespread culture of silence, a reluctance to reporting abuses and a general lack of education and awareness about protection practices. These challenges are then combined with those of clericalism. It is a stark picture – which shows that there is still much to be done in concrete measures for the protection of minors – that is offered by the analysis dedicated specifically to the Asia-Pacific region in the first “Annual Report” on this topic that sand presented today in the Vatican.
The document was prepared at the request of Pope Francis, who asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors – the body created ten years ago to promote the fight against pedophilia within the Church and chaired by Card. Sean O’Malley – to present a report every year on what is being done around the world, as a moment of “transparency and accountability.” The text was drafted by a working group chaired by jurist Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, a member of the Commission, with extensive experience in defending minors on behalf of international institutions. In its 96 pages it takes stock of both the global responses of the Church and a series of particular situations that have been examined in the last twelve months (among them the Episcopal Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and that of Sri Lanka , who made their ad limina visit to the Vatican). But, above all, an entire chapter – the second – is dedicated to the analyzes produced by the Regional Groups and written by some members of the Commission together with experts from each continent. In this area, the results of the Asia-Pacific context to which reference has been made are offered.
This does not mean that there is a lack of positive individual experiences in this field: the Regional Group expressly cites some in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan), with the application of “commendable protection measures, as exemplifies St. Joseph’s Safeguarding Center in Mumbai, India.” It also praises the significant commitment to the path of Justice and Conversion – the path indicated by Pope Francis, based on the five steps of Conversion from evil, Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of non-recidivism – that was put into practice in Australia and New Zealand, with the collaboration of external bodies such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Australia) and the current Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith based Institutions (New Zealand).
But along with these lights, the challenges that must be faced remain great. “In South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan), although the Church has been a force of community support – he says – there have also been cases of clerical abuse that require careful attention and resolution.” It is emphasized that “unique socio-economic landscapes, with factors such as religious and legal systems diversity, require personalized protection strategies”, which are evidently still struggling to assert themselves.
In Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore), it is stated that “cases of clerical abuse have been reported inconsistently, hampered by hierarchical structures traditional practices, patriarchal values, ineffective legal mechanisms, corruption and fear of social reprisals.
In Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) – it is noted – “the presence of the Church is relatively marginal, influenced by the predominantly Muslim culture of the region and limited by political and legal factors. Collaboration must be improved between the Church and state bodies, and this requires a comprehensive strategy to build trust within local communities, improve legal and policy frameworks and invest in community-based interventions.
As for the Pacific Islands, “although they have different cultures, they all face problems of lack of data, high rates of abuse and a culture of silence. The Catholic Church has some influence, but must face the complexity of protection “Samoan culture has difficulty dealing with abuse and the situation requires introspection, education and collaborative interventions.”
Finally, with respect to East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Macau), the report states that “the need remains to develop targeted partnerships with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders,” suggesting a significant delay in this case as well.
However, the Report also points out ways to help these local Churches to continue moving forward. Solidarity between Episcopal Conferences is essential to overcome the shortage of specific resources found in the Churches of Asia, as well as those of Africa and Central and South America. At the same time, the main path remains to listen to the victims and their families. Because, as Card observed. O’Malley during the presentation of the document, only “his courage to speak, calling the Church and its leadership to responsibility” has made possible all the steps that are being taken in the world for the protection of minors.
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