The German Father Hans Zollner has surprisingly left the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and has sharply criticized the work of the body. “Structural and practical problems” made it no longer possible for the Regensburg native to continue working in the commission set up by Pope Francis in 2014, as Zollner announced on Wednesday. He was a member of the Commission from the start and is considered one of the most prominent fighters in the Curia for the prevention and processing of child abuse within the Catholic Church.
In his declaration of resignation, which the Pope accepted on March 14, Zollner listed several problems within the commission. He sees compliance problems, for example, because it is not clear according to which criteria the members are selected and given roles and responsibilities. He also criticized insufficient financial accountability. It must be clear how the funds will be used within the commission, he wrote.
In addition, it is not communicated transparently enough how the committee makes decisions. Basically, Zollner complained that he was not aware of any rules as to how the originally independent commission within the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith could work. Last year, Pope Francis integrated the commission into the curial department that used to be called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He remains open to discussions with the Commission on child protection and hopes that the problems he has identified will be resolved, Zollner continued. The Jesuit Father continues to advise the Diocese of Rome on the subject and is Director of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
For years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by revelations about the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. In several countries – including Germany – expert opinions revealed that in some cases perpetrators were neither sought nor sanctioned for decades, but were sometimes protected. Pope Francis wants to improve the fight against abuse and for the protection of children.
