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If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not alone. We are here to help you. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and an Alabama Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case. Help is available nationwide. There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation. Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing. Alabama Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer
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PONTIFICAL COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was created by Pope Francis on March 22, 2014. The purpose of the commission is to propose ways to protect children from abuse within the church. Pope Francis created the group after facing criticism from victims’ groups due to his initial lack of action into the sexual abuse problem. The commission is led by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Boston Archdiocese. Cardinal O’Malley was selected by Pope Francis for this role due to Cardinal O’Malley’s handling of the fallout of the sexual abuse scandal that unfolded in Boston under the leadership of his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law.
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The commission is comprised of up to eighteen members appointed to a three year term including Cardinal O’Malley as president. Father Robert Oliver, a priest from New York, was appointed the Vatican secretary of the commission by Pope Francis. Father Oliver was previously the Promoter of Justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and prosecuted priests and other church personnel for sexual abuse. The terms of the first commission expired in December 2017, and the new commission consists of seven returning members and nine new members. Cardinal O’Malley remained the president.
The statutes of the commission established the commission as an advisory body for the pope. Their primary mission is the protection of minors, and they were to propose to the pope initiatives that promote the responsibility of the church to protect the vulnerable. The commission was to be convened twice a year, but an additional meeting could be requested if two thirds of the members agreed.
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The commission encouraged Pope Francis in 2015 to create a tribunal at the Vatican to hold bishops accountable for their failures to protect children and their efforts to shelter abusive priests. Despite being approved by the pope, the tribunal was never created. In 2017, Marie Collins, an Irishwoman who was the only sexual abuse survivor on the commission, resigned out of frustration. She claimed that Vatican officials were being uncooperative with the commission’s efforts to protect children.
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She specifically cited the refusal from the Vatican to respond to every letter from an abuse survivor. The commission’s request had been approved by the pope. Collins stated that she felt the Vatican’s public statements on abuse failed to match their actions behind closed doors. Collins was also upset that the Vatican refused to join efforts with the commission in publishing guidelines for keeping children safe.
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