At the heart of the Annual Report presented by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is the recognition of the unjust suffering and the courageous testimonies of victims and survivors, Commission president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley OFM Cap., told journalists at the October 29^th presentation at the Holy See Press Office.  

Cardinal O’Malley dedicated the Pilot Annual Report to victims and survivors and spoke of how the 160-page document is a concrete record of the Churches commitment to doing better in terms of “welcoming you and addressing you in all the unjust suffering you have endured.” 

“We praise your courageous testimony and at the same time, we recognize that you are likely tired of empty words,” he said.  

The launch of the Annual Report is both a milestone and a work-in-progress. It is the first step towards a process of data gathering and reporting within the Catholic Church, which began after Pope Francis asked the Commission to “furnish a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that competent authorities can act.” 

Cardinal O’Malley stressed that the Commission’s work, including the publication of the Annual Report, “is and always has been about recognition and inclusion of victims and survivors of abuse in the life of the Church.” All the testimony from victims/survivors, their advocacy groups, and their families has impacted the Commission’s work. 

“Nothing we do will ever be enough to fully repair what has happened,” he said. “But we hope that this Report and those that will come, compiled with the help of victims and survivors at the center, will help to ensure the firm commitment that these events never happen again in the Church.”