The Holy See’s statement was a response to heightened scrutiny from the media. Critics of the Catholic Church's response to the child
sex abuse scandal are "sensationalist" and have "a short memory", the
Vatican has asserted in a scathing response to Cardinal Pell's evidence
in front of an Australian Commission.
Fr Frederico Lombardi SJ, Head of the Vatican press office, said in the
statement that "those who are least informed or have a short memory"
think the Church has done nothing to combat and respond to "these
terrible problems", but that "objective consideration shows that this is
not the case".