Vatican body urges compensation for abused minors, action against priests

Vatican commission’s report is first-ever assessment of church’s efforts to address crisis of sexual abuse by clergy.

The Catholic Church must allow victims of sexual abuse by its clergy the right to compensation and make it easier to remove priests, the Vatican’s child protection commission says in its first annual report.

The 50-page report, published on Tuesday, is the first-ever global assessment of the church’s efforts to address the crisis of sexual abuse within its ranks.

For decades, the church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, set up by Pope Francis a decade ago, said the church was coming out of a “dark period” in which “church leaders tragically failed those we are called to shepherd”.

US Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a former archbishop of Boston who spent decades listening to abuse survivors, said at a news conference a new period has begun “where accountability, care and concern for victims is beginning to bring light to the darkness”.