Currents News Staff
With only a week to go before the Summit on Sexual Abuse, hope and expectations are rising despite even Pope Francis on the papal plane back from Panama told journalists to “deflate” their expectations. We spoke to the pope’s main collaborator for this meeting, who tells us just how high they really should be.
Fr. Hans Zollner is one of four clergymen appointed by Pope Francis to organize the Summit on Sexual Abuse beginning Feb. 21. He says while expectations have been swinging high to low, the mission has always been clear.
“I think the understanding of the committee that is preparing this event and this meeting, as well as the Holy Father’s expectations, are that we will do what will be possible now in three days and a half. We will have to choose our focus for this meeting and that was clear from the beginning of the planning: the systemic side, the structural side, institutional side of abuse,” said Zollner.
In order to cover these well, Fr. Zollner said topics have been chosen for each day.
“The first day, responsibility of a bishop with regard to how to deal with victims, how to deal with perpetrators. Second day: accountability. To whom is responsible – the bishop accountable to or the provincial? To whom does he report and who can help him, hold him accountable? The third day about transparency. Transparency to the people of God and to the public,” he said.
With these points, they are hoping to also answer difficult questions such as why and how there was abuse and cover up for decades that went unreported within the Church.
Fr. Zollner repeated that while the meeting is only 3 and a half days, he believes expectations should be high as this will have repercussions for all areas of Church life.