Attitudes about how the Church is
handling cases of clerical sex abuse are frequently rooted in a
misunderstanding of rule of law and evidentiary standards. Last month Peter Saunders, the British man who
founded and leads the National Association for People Abused in Childhood
(NAPAC), was removed from the Vatican’s
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, “apparently following a
15-0 vote of no confidence.”
The chorus of some mainstream media has been
quick to describe this as a sign that the Vatican doesn’t intend to do enough
against child sex abuse, or that Pope Francis is failing to do so. However,
this attitude of utter condemnation of the Church is misplaced and based, in
part, on a misunderstanding of rule of law and evidentiary standards.
