Cardinal O'Malley withdraws from World Meeting of Families

Culture
16 Aug 18

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is pictured before a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 28. A U.S. priest, Father Boniface Ramsey, wrote to Cardinal O'Malley in 2015 regarding the alleged sexual abuse of seminarians by Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. Cardinal O'Malley said he did not "personally receive" the letter but that a reply was made at the staff level that it "did not fall under the purview of the Commission or the Archdiocese of Boston." (CNS photo/Paul Haring) See RAMSEY-LETTER-ABUSE and RAMSEY-LETTER-TEXT Aug. 14, 2018.

Sarah O'Byrne

The conference takes place on August 21 to 26 in Dublin as a part of Pope Francis’ visit.

One of the Vatican's key advisers on clerical sex abuse, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, has withdrawn from the World Meeting of Families where he was due to moderate the discussion on 'Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults'. This was to be the Vatican’s first televised debate on child safeguarding.

Cardinal O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston, is Chair of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children. This institution was set up by Pope Francis in arch of 2014 as part of the Catholic Church's efforts to deal with the scandal of sex abuse of minors.

In a recent statement, the archdiocese said the cardinal would not be able to attend the World Meeting of Families as "important matters pertaining to the pastoral care of St John's Seminary in the Archdiocese of Boston and the seminarians enrolled in the formation program there require the Cardinal's personal attention and presence.”

This announcement follows the cardinal’s announcement last week that he wanted to establish an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and other forms of intimidation at the diocese’s principle seminary, St John.