What happened?
Pope Francis has revived the Vatican commission on child protection, as an investigation into a Chile abuse scandal continues. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has a five-year term, which came to an end in December. But the Pope has renewed its term, with some changes in membership. The 16 members – half lay, half clergy – include members from around the world, with Tonga, Brazil, Ethiopia and Australia all represented.
What the secular media are saying
Nicole Winfield of Associated Press argued that the commission had to prove that the Vatican was really on board with a “victims first” approach. “There have been several well-known cases,” Winfield claimed, where the Pope and the Vatican “sided with the accused over victims”.
Speaking to the Irish Times, former commission member Marie Collins expressed concern that “some of the most hard-working, independent, and active members” had not been reappointed, such as the psychologists Catherine Bonnet and Baroness Hollins. They had been leading groups devoted to improving care for abuse survivors. “They were half-way through their work, and I’m worried these groups may now be scrapped,” Collins said. “There is no group in the commission for survivors.”
What Catholic media said
At Crux, John Allen said that the commission had already done more good than its critics realised: “Commission members have criss-crossed the planet delivering training seminars on abuse prevention, detection and response for Church leaders, including in regions which have resisted the idea that abuse is a major risk in the Church.” Moreover, said Allen, the commission’s slow work in changing the culture within the Church has borne fruit: for instance, in 2016 Cardinal Oswald Gracias set up a child protection panel in Mumbai, saying that he hoped to “bring the spirit of the commission” to his own archdiocese.
One new member, Sister Hermenegild Makoro, told Spotlight Africa that the members “share in” the pain of survivors: “You are there to be with them, to assist where possible”.
✣Attacks on Christians in India double in a year
What happened?
Attacks on Christians in India more than doubled in a year, according to Persecution Relief, an ecumenical group that supports India’s persecuted Christians. Reported incidents increased from 348 in 2016 to 736 last year, the group said. The incidents were mostly physical assaults, but also included threats and destruction of property.
Why was it under-reported
The oppression of Christians by nationalist extremists in India is not a familiar story to most people, but it should be. In the recent past, intolerance has produced anti-Christian pogroms. In 2008, for example, 100 people were killed during a violent rampage in Kandhamal, eastern India. Smaller-scale violence against Christians has been on the rise since Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist BJP, was elected prime minister in 2014. Such attacks are often driven by the fear that Christians are trying to convert Hindus.
What will happen next?
The spike in violence has led senior Church leaders to speak out. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of India’s bishops’ conference, said: “We are losing confidence in our government.” Archbishop Thomas Macwan has asked for prayers to “save our country from nationalist forces”. One problem is that Christians receive little help from police. In December, 30 priests and seminarians were arrested in Satna for singing carols. Clergy who came to their aid outside the police station were beaten up – and the police failed to intervene.
✣The week ahead
The final text of Ireland’s referendum bill on abortion will be published on Tuesday. It will describe the legislation to be set before parliament if the Eighth Amendment protecting unborn life is repealed. Last week a poll suggested support for repeal was falling. It found those backing abortion after three months’ gestation had dropped from 51 to 43 per cent in two weeks.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will deliver the Cardinal Winning lecture tomorrow. The lecture, organised by the St Andrew’s Foundation at Glasgow University, will mark 100 years of state support for Catholic education.
The Jesuit church at Farm Street in west London is holding an exhibition on the life and legacy of Cardinal Manning (Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 to 1892). The exhibition, which runs until March 23, is being introduced on Monday evening with a talk by Fr Nicholas Schofield, diocesan archivist at Westminster.
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