ALBAWABA - Pope Leo XIV has made French Archbishop Thibault Verny the new head of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. This is the first big thing he has done to deal with the problem of priest abuse around the world.
The move shows that the Vatican is trying again to rebuild trust in the Catholic Church after decades of abuse scandals that hurt its reputation around the world.
Archbishop Verny, who is 59 years old, will keep his job as Archbishop of Chambéry in the southeast of France while also taking over as head of the commission. In a statement released on Saturday, Verny reaffirmed his dedication to enhancing safety measures within the Church. "We will work to make sure that resources are shared fairly so that every part of the Church, no matter where it is or what its conditions are, can uphold the highest standards of child protection," he said.
The panel was created by Pope Francis in 2014 in response to widespread reports of sexual abuse by clergy in many countries. Over the past ten years, these issues have caused a lot of legal and financial problems and forced a lot of Church leaders to step down.
Cardinal Seán O'Malley, who was Archbishop of Boston and now leads the panel, is taking over from Verny. At age 81, O'Malley was still working for the Church after the legal retirement age of 80. During his time in office, there was both growth and problems, such as resignations from within the commission and criticism of how well it worked.
In 2023, a well-known Jesuit priest and pope adviser quit the commission because he was unhappy with how it was run and structured. Even so, a lot of survivors and supporters have praised the commission's work to push for openness and change.
Verny was first named to the committee by Pope Francis in 2022. Since then, he has been in charge of protecting the Church in France and has been praised for taking a proactive approach to reform and safety.
The new leader was praised by Cardinal O'Malley, who called Verny "a committed and collaborative leader dedicated to expanding global protections and ensuring the safety of those under the Church's care."
People inside and outside the Church are calling for more responsibility and systemic change. With this appointment, Pope Leo XIV starts to shape his papacy's response to one of the Church's most important moral problems.
