By Matters India Reporter

Bengaluru, Feb 18, 2020: A member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults has urged the Catholic bishops in India to make child protection policy mandatory in all institutions under their care.

Sister Arina Gonsalves of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary also wants the prelates to set up a system to make all diocesan priests and the religious in the country comply with the policy.

“The importance of human formation for the seminarians and candidates for the religious life in the formation houses must be given to prevent pornography in presbytery, seminary and religious houses,” said the Indian nun who joined the Vatican commission two years ago.

Sister Gonsalves, who addressed the 34th plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) on February 17, narrated some case studies that would bear the long-term effects on sexual abuse victims. She listed them as emotional and behavioral problems, abnormal sexual behavior, psychiatric disorders, suicide tendency, drug abuse and traumatic stress disorder.

Before her Vatican assignment, Sister Gonsalves was a member of the expert group for child protection in the Archdiocese of Bombay. According the activist nun abuses of minor occur in schools and even in orphanages.

The archdiocese set up a committee for the protection of minors in 2016 with the aim of raising awareness about the Protection of Children from the Sexual Offenses Act of 2012, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013.

At the time of her Vatican appointment, the nun had said her mission was to prevent violence and protect vulnerable children and adults by raising their awareness. “The Catholic Church really wants to help children and we must do everything possible to protect minors,” she had said.

The bishops attending the plenary asked Sister Gonsalves what they should do to prevent sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.

She advised them to adopt zero tolerance towards sexual abuse; take necessary disciplinary action against offenders; respond with compassion and care for victims of sexual abuse, take care and to address critical component of prevention; constitute an appropriate mechanism with necessary infrastructure and time bound procedure to redress cases of sexual abuse; and Not to shield any instance of abuse from prosecution by civil authorities.

Earlier the Indian bishops claimed they were following the Vatican-approved guidelines for handling clergy abuse cases.

The Indian bishops’ document, “Procedural norms for dealing with cases involving sexual abuses of minors,” was issued on October 1, 2015, and went into effect on November 1, 2015.

Two years later, the bishops’ conference issued stringent standards to deal with clergy abuse of minors. The standards stipulated that dioceses and religious congregations set up committees to deal with such cases.

However, the standards remain a mystery for the public, and for priests and nuns. Some Catholic activists have alleged that the apparent secrecy over the standards was a strategy against the bishops’ fear that their publication would lead to a deluge of complaints.

However, conference officials say the national body has only an advisory role and that it was for dioceses to implement the standards and ensure their strict adherence.

The document was circulated only to bishops and major superiors. The two groups were given strict instruction not to share its content with others lest it fall into the hands of those who may not use it with discretion.

The document’s introduction explains the standards to bishops and major superiors and ways to implement them.

The operative part aims at strict adherence to the procedures. The Indian norms follow Pope Francis’ policy of zero tolerance toward sexual abuse of minors.

The conference had asked bishops to convene a meeting of their priests to explain the standards and procedures. Similarly, the major superiors were to do the same with their members.

The standards stipulate that a diocese prepare a code of conduct for church persons and institutions where minors are given particular care. He outlined the multi-phase process in the guidelines:

If a case arises in a diocese or province, a preliminary committee will examine the complaint, and talk to the victim, witnesses and the accused.

If the committee finds “a semblance of truth” in the case, it will inform the bishop or the major superior. The bishop will refer the matter to the Vatican congregation. If Rome is persuaded an issue may exist, it will ask the diocese to conduct further inquiry.

A Special Committee for Sexual Offense appointed by the bishop or the major superior will study the case. The committee’s term is for three years and it should have three members, at least one of them a canon law expert.

The special committee will reexamine the case, talking to the complainant, the accused and witnesses, and prepare documentary evidence to submit to the bishop or superior within 90 days.

The standards stipulate that the bishop or superior should show the final report to the victim and the accused to ensure justice and fairness. Depending on the gravity of the issue, the matter is again referred to Rome.

Penalties could be as severe as laicization of the accused. However, the standards end with No.1752 in the canon law: “The salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law in the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes.”