Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
2024-2025 · 1 year · show in timeline

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors 2025: Annual report speaks of a systemic failure of the Church, lack of accountability of bishops for cover-up and cultural resistance in Italy

In 2025 the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors presented its second annual report (reporting year 2024). It states that the breadth and scale of abuse and its enablement show a systemic failure of the Church, both locally and globally. Victims complained of a lack of accountability of bishops and major superiors for negligence and cover-up; reports had disappeared and letters to bishops had gone unanswered for years. For Italy the commission notes substantial cultural resistance to addressing abuse; there is no obligation to report and no central office of the bishops' conference. Large parts of Central and South America, Africa and Asia lack resources for accompanying victims.

Period
2024-2025 (1 year)
Report published
1 January 2025
Country
Italy, Vatican City
Institutions
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors
Italian Episcopal Conference
Category
Admission, Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. In the focus group with victims from four world regions, lack of accountability of Church leaders was a frequent issue; it was repeatedly stressed that bishops and major superiors must be held accountable for negligence and cover-up. One bishop cut off contact after a report, many victims had to submit multiple reports because earlier ones had disappeared. One victim wrote two letters to the bishop and after five years had still received no answer.
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35
    „The urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up was repeatedly stressed.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35
    „but then blocked contact and cut communication once the bishop realized that the case was a sexual harassment crime“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35
    „having to submit multiple reports because previous reports “disappeared”“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35
    „I sent two letters to the bishop telling him what happened, that was five years ago, and I still have not received an answer“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Annual Report Victim/Survivor Focus Group, Findings, S. 35. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. According to the report large parts of Central and South America, Africa and Asia still lack adequate resources for accompanying victims. The commission calls for reasons for resignations or removals to be clearly communicated and publicly stated when they relate to abuse or negligence.
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Executive Summary, S. 11
    „A significant part of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia are still lacking adequate dedicated resources to victim/survivor accompaniment.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Executive Summary, S. 11. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Summary of Main Findings, Removal or resignation
    „issuing a public statement when these reasons are related to the abuse of minors or vulnerable adults, negligence“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Summary of Main Findings, Removal or resignation. Original

Background

Response of the Church

  1. According to the report the breadth and scale of abuse and its enablement create a debt beyond that of each individual case: there is a systemic failure, both locally and globally, that requires repair. Covering up abuse to protect the reputation of the Church and Church leaders is an affront to God and exacerbates the harms. The report expressly counts among the guilty those who enabled abuse by knowingly failing to bring abusers to account.
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Introduction, What must be repaired, S. 23
    „The breadth and scale of abuse and enablement create a larger debt beyond that of each individual case: there is a systemic failure, both locally and globally, that requires repair.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Introduction, What must be repaired, S. 23. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Introduction, S. 25
    „Covering up abuse to protect the reputation of the Church and Church leaders is an affront to God and exacerbates the harms of abuse.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Introduction, S. 25. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Introduction, Listening
    „but also those who enabled the abuse by knowingly failing to bring abusers to account“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Introduction, Listening. Original
  2. On Italy the commission notes substantial cultural resistance to addressing abuse. The bishops' conference lacks a central office to receive reports and compare the handling of cases across regions; there is no obligation to report, not even in the national guidelines. In Sicily cooperation agreements between bishops and civil authorities are lacking; the bishops of one region should not interpret the low number of reported cases as a sign that there is no abuse.
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
    „The Commission notes substantial cultural resistance in Italy to addressing abuse.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
    „The Conference lacks a centralised office to receive reports“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
    „The fact that in Italy there is no obligation to report, and that the national guidelines do not provide for such a requirement“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Section 1, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Section 1, Sicilia
    „There is a lack of formal cooperation agreements throughout the region between the bishops and civil authorities“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Section 1, Sicilia. Original
    Evidence: Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum, Section 1, italienische Regionen
    „The region’s bishops should not interpret the low number of reported cases as a sign that there is no abuse.“
    Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, Section 1, italienische Regionen. Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Church document
    Pontificia Commissio pro Tutela Minorum: Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding, Reporting Year 2024, 1 January 2025. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
Change log (2)

The change log is kept in German only.

  • : Aktualisiert: Zusammenfassung, Englische Übersetzung
  • : Aufgenommen

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.