Opinion Breaking the silence

Francis took over from his predecessor in an almost unprecedented transfer of power, inheriting a scandal-ridden papacy whose image, his supporters suggest, he has done much to restore. Critics, though, pointed to his perceived reluctance to ramp up the official response to this shameful chapter, arguing that although the pope has condemned the abuse, he has also defended the church, claiming in an interview that no other institution had responded to charges of clerical paedophilia with such “transparency and responsibility”, angering abuse victims.

Now, by appointing a panel to protect minors from abuse and examine options to deal with offenders, he appears to have taken the first step towards ending the “code of silence” the church was accused of imposing by the UN earlier this year.

Ever since the scale of sexual violation and abuse of children by the clergy became public in the mid-1990s, the Vatican has seemed caught in a pattern of denial, secrecy and cover-up, claiming that it was responsible for such crimes only within the geographical bounds of Vatican City, allowing local church officials to deal with cases in their parishes.

A UN report released in February documented how deeply the Vatican failed to uphold its commitment to protect children, excoriating church policies that compounded this widespread abuse by protecting the accused, transferring them to other parishes and not notifying civil authorities of the crime.

The Vatican reacted to the criticism in customary fashion, asserting that the UN was interfering in sacred doctrinal matters. But the pope’s appointments to the new panel — half of whom are women, including a former victim — suggest a welcome and long overdue shift in the church’s priorities.