Overview

• The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released a vademecum centered on informed listening, victim access to case information, comprehensive psychological and spiritual support, and public acceptance of responsibility.
• The report calls for tangible reparations including financial assistance for therapy, alongside sanctions for perpetrators and enablers, plus simplified procedures to remove leaders and clear disclosure of reasons for resignations or removals.
• It recommends systemic tools such as mandatory local reporting mechanisms and an international academic network to collect comparable safeguarding data and track progress.
• The commission criticizes Church leaders for slow responses and poor transparency, reports disturbing retaliation against victims who come forward, and notes uneven cooperation, including only 81 of 226 Italian dioceses answering its questionnaire.
• Audits highlight capacity gaps in the Dicastery for Evangelization, which has a single safeguarding official and unclear workflows, while roughly 40 survivor contributors shaped the report and the commission signals next work on access to justice with early engagement from Pope Leo XIV and new president Archbishop Thibault Verny.