“Victims want to be heard and victims want justice,” Teresa Kettelkamp says as she explains some of the findings of the first annual report of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Source: Vatican News.
Dr Kettelkamp, the Adjunct Secretary for the commission, said the report was a “tool … a snapshot of what the Church’s status is with regard to safeguarding and reaching out to survivors”.
“One finding” she was pleased with, she says, “is the desire to develop safeguarding mechanisms for the Church as universal”.
Acknowledging the challenges that remain, Dr Kettelkamp says the Church already has “a safeguarding mentality” but needs to develop a “safeguarding culture”.
Part of the challenge is delivering justice to survivors of abuse.
“Victims want to be heard, and victims want justice,” she said.
Similarly, Dr Kettelkamp recognised the limitations of this initial report.
“I want to give people hope,” she says, “I know that this is a pilot. This is a snapshot. There are gaps in some areas that even you know, but this is the first time out of the gate.”
But, she says, “the Church is serious about safeguarding. Even if they don’t have resources, I have not found one Church leader with whom I met, in my experience, who dismisses safeguarding.”
“Now, are the resources there?” she asks. “Is the skill set there? Is the knowledge base there? No, but we can help. We can help with that.”
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Kettelkamp on abuse report: Victims want justice (By Christopher Wells, Vatican News)
