Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrives for a news conference at the Vatican in this June 14, 2016, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrives for a news conference at the Vatican in this June 14, 2016, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The Vatican's doctrinal chief dismissed accusations that some Vatican officials are resisting recommendations on best practices for protecting children and vulnerable adults from clergy sex abuse.

"I think this cliche must be put to an end: the idea that the pope, who wants the reform, is on one side and, on the other, a group of resisters who want to block it," said Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The congregation is charged with carrying out canonical trials and seeking justice for victims of clerical abuse, while local bishops and heads of religious orders must care for their pastoral needs, he said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, published on March 5.

Cardinal Muller responded to complaints made by Marie Collins, who resigned her post on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on March 1, citing what she described as resistance coming from Vatican offices against implementing recommendations.

In an editorial published online on March 1 by National Catholic Reporter, Collins said an unnamed dicastery not only refused to cooperate on the commission's safeguarding guidelines, but also refused to respond to letters from victims.

Collins said the refusal "to implement one of the simplest recommendations the commission has put forward to date" was the last straw that led to her resignation.

While acknowledging that personal care of victims is important, Cardinal Muller said Collins' accusations "are based on a misunderstanding" and that bishops and religious superiors "who are closer" to victims of clergy sex abuse are charged with their pastoral care.

"When a letter arrives, we always ask the bishop that he take pastoral care of the victim, clarifying that the congregation will do everything possible to do justice. It is a misunderstanding that this dicastery, in Rome," can be aware of everything happening in all the dioceses and religious orders in the world, the cardinal said.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he added, "acts as the supreme apostolic tribunal" on matters dealing with clerical abuse.

"All of our collaborators humanly suffer with the victims of abuse. Our task is to do everything possible to do justice and avoid further crimes," he said.

Through the work of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the cardinal said, Pope Francis "wished to offer an exemplary service" as a help for the church and the world in dealing with the scourge of child sex abuse.

"Pedophilia is monstrous crime as well as a grave sin. We must remember Jesus' words to the children and his condemnation against those who harm them," Cardinal Muller said.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.