For years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by revelations about the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. In some cases, perpetrators were neither sought nor sanctioned for decades, but were sometimes protected.
In the Vatican, a commission set up by Pope Francis in 2014 is intended to improve the protection of minors. But now a prominent member has surprisingly left the committee and has severely criticized its work. The German Father Hans Zollner complained about “structural and practical problems” that made it no longer possible for the Regensburg native to continue working.
Zollner was a member of the Commission from the start and is considered one of the most prominent fighters in the Curia for the prevention and processing of child abuse within the Catholic Church.
Zollner names several problems
In his declaration of resignation, which the Pope accepted on March 14, Zollner listed several problems within the commission. For example, he wrote about compliance problems because it was not clear according to which criteria the members would be selected and given roles and responsibilities. He also criticized insufficient financial accountability. It must be clear how the funds will be used within the commission, he wrote.
In addition, it is not communicated transparently enough how the committee makes decisions. Basically, Zollner complained that he was not aware of any rules as to how the originally independent commission within the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith could work. Last year, Pope Francis integrated the commission into the central Curia department, which was formerly called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He remains open to discussions with the Commission on child protection and hopes that the problems he has identified will be resolved, Zollner continued. The Jesuit Father continues to advise the Diocese of Rome on the subject and is Director of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.