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The Catholic Church’s efforts to prevent clerical sexual abuse and protect children around the world will be “a long-term effort,” said the Rev. Robert W. Oliver, a Boston priest who began work on Feb. 1 as the promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Speaking at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University on Feb. 5 of the role of the media in the crisis, Father Oliver said, “Those who continued to put before us that we needed to confront this problem did a service.” When one first hears of a case of abuse, he said, “every single one of us begins with denial,” which is why the entire church, at all levels, must make a concerted effort to educate its members about the reality of abuse and the best practices for protecting children. Hans Zollner, S.J., president of the directors’ committee of the Child Protection Center, said that in responding to the scandal and preventing abuse, “the road will be long and difficult because of resistance, conflicts and tensions” as well as “inertia, discouragement on the inside and attacks from the outside.”

This article appears in February 25 2013.