Sexual abuse survivors call for next pope to do more to end abuse
By Hilary Whiteman, CNN, April 21, 2025
Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin observes Pope Francis’ coffin lying in Vatican residence (CNN)
Survivors of church sexual abuse say the next pope needs to do more to rid Catholicism of abusive clergy members and overhaul the Vatican’s handling of such cases.
The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for whoever succeeds Pope Francis to institute a “zero tolerance law” for sexual abuse.
The survivor advocacy group wants abusive clergy — and church leaders who’ve covered up their crimes — to be ejected from the ministry. It also wants more oversight of bishops.
“(The next pope) must use his authority to enact fundamental, institutional changes to end the systematic practice of sexual abuse and its concealment.”
In 2022, Francis told CNN Portugal the church had “zero tolerance” for abuse and that a priest could not remain in the ministry “if he is an abuser.”
But SNAP said Monday that the church had not followed through on its promises of transparency and more work was needed to bring abusers to account.
When Francis became pontiff, he inherited an institution tarnished by decades of abuse scandals involving crimes committed by clergy members against vulnerable children worldwide.
Critics had hoped for change, but in 2018, Francis was criticized for defending a Chilean bishop who had been accused of covering up sexual abuse. The pope later called his handling of the case a “grave error” and invited victims to meet him.
In 2019, Francis convened an unprecedented four-day summit of church leaders in Rome to discuss ways to rid the church of sexual predators, who he called the “tools of Satan.”
One of the summit’s outcomes was the withdrawal of Vatican secrecy rules that had prevented documents and information from being shared with civil authorities. But SNAP says information is still being withheld and alleged crimes concealed.
The group launched “Conclave Watch,” a website tracking papal candidates, including their records on reporting sexual abuse within the church.
“When white smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel, the new pontiff will have no credibility with survivors if he has a history of having enabled sexual abuse by concealing it from the public and allowing perpetrators to remain in ministry in any capacity,” SNAP said.