Catholic Church needs fundamental change after sex abuse scandals

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Sexual abuses in Catholic churches have been going on for decades without official acknowledgment until recently. Pope Francis admitted to the systemic cover-up of clergies and sought forgiveness for members of the church's leadership during his recent visit to Ireland.

However, there is no preventive strategy to stop future abuses from church leadership and angry protesters are asking him to resign.

Marie Collins was abused by a priest at the age of 13, and she didn't come out with details in public until the age of 48.

"During my whole life I've suffered from horrible depression," she said in an interview. She resigned in protest from Pope Francis's Commission for the Protection of Minors after a "disappointing conversation" with the Pope.

It's not her first time hearing words of repentance and promises from the church. Twenty years ago when she realized that the same priest who abused her went on to abuse other sick children in the hospital, she turned to the Catholic Church with great anger.

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"They said they are just about to learn and is on a learning curve," she said. "But that's twenty years ago. We are in a different century now."

The investigation found that priests were shuttled from parish to parish by the church to shield them from consequences. The Vatican has yet to put forward a comprehensive strategy to deal with sex abuse cases.

Just like Marie, Becky Ianni, another victim who was abused at the age of eight, now heading the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said that she didn't believe the church will ever change.

"I am really tired of words," she said. "We heard the same things over and over again, but there is no action. They are just not protecting us."

The abuse itself is bad enough, but for some victims, the reaction of the church hurts even more.

"I've gotten over the physical side of the abuse," said Shaun Dougherty, a child sex abuse survivor. "What is impossible to get over is the systemic cover-up."

Before the issue raised global attention, victims like Marie formed their own unions and negotiated with the church for decades, but no fundamental changes appeared.

"We proposed accountability tribunals, best strong guidelines should have been imposed in every diocese in the world, but they were resisted," said Marie. "The culture in the church is just about self-protection and dodging responsibility."

As a US ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond Flynn used to work a lot with the Catholic Church on various issues, during which he warned the church about the abuse, but saw little change over the years. Law enforcement and authorities also didn't give much attention to the sexual abuse allegations against the church.

"I don't believe that any institution, whether it's the White House, Congress or the Church, can police itself," he said. "Cases should be handed over to the law enforcement authorities and let them do independent judgment."

Becky backed this view by citing the successful trial of abuses by law enforcement in Virginia. Because there is no statute of limitations in Virginia, persecutors were prosecuted decades after committing crimes and were put in jail.

In this video grab members of Chile's bishops conference, Luis Fernando Ramos Perez (L) and Juan Ignacio Gonzalez give a press conference on May 14, 2018, in the Vatican. /VCG Photo.

Another solution, according to Raymond, is to abandon the wishful thinking of changing the top and instead empower the pew. He believes that the more attention there is from the public, the more pressure will be on the shoulder of members of the Catholic leadership, which will lead to change.

That echoes with his understanding of faith in God. For him, going to church is something that he does out of his belief in God, not in any priest or pope.

"If we rally around that idea, we should unite together and make the changes that we want to happen."

A fundamental change to the Catholic operating system is more urgent given its burgeoning growth around the globe. Marie resigned from the commission, but her war against church sexual abuse does not end there. Her new strategy is to inform the public about what’s inside the church.

"I've walked away from the church," she said. "Now I am going public and telling as many people as possible."

The Heat with Anand Naidoo is a 30-minute political talk show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 7:00 a.m. BJT and 7:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States.