In view of the typically cynical attitude of the religious of the IVE to blame the religious who were victims of sexual abuse by Father José María Corbelle, we reproduce here an article originally published by Victoria Cardiel in Aciprensa that illustrates the attitude that the members of the IVE should have when they pastorally accompany the sisters.
The challenge of confronting abuse in consecrated life – in all its dimensions: sexual, power, conscience and also economic – was the focus of the work of the international meeting organized by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in Palazzo Maffei Marescotti in Rome.
Under the theme “Building Communities That Protect Dignity,” representatives of religious institutes from some twenty countries met between November 17 and 19 to share experiences, examine structural failures and advance in the preparation of the third Annual Report, which will involve 40 communities.
The president of the Commission, Archbishop Thibault Verny, thanked the nearly 60 participants from various countries for their presence and stressed that the prevention of abuse “is not a local task, but a universal commitment of the Church.”
The third report on abuse, the archbishop said, “does not intend to add a weight,” but to be “an opportunity” to promote “attention to the most vulnerable members” and reinforce “the quality of formation.” This path “cannot be traveled alone,” Verny concluded.
“I believe you, you are not alone”: the beginning of true reparation
One of the most significant moments was the intervention of the president of the Conference of Religious of France (Corref), Véronique Magron, who clearly explained the initial steps to accompany a consecrated woman who denounces abuse. Her first recommendation was direct and without nuances: “The first words should be: I believe you, you are not alone, I will help you and I will do everything necessary,” she said, as reported Vatican News.
“We have to speak with sincerity, otherwise it is impossible to build dialogue and trust,” he added.
For the nun, reparation is a broad process that cannot be reduced to a mere formality: it requires justice, accompaniment and the real involvement of those who suffered violence. For this reason, he said, the second step is to “work for any form of justice,” “involving” victims at each stage, without “minimizing” cases or diluting responsibilities.
Structures, failures and silences
The meeting bluntly addressed the panorama of abuse within religious life, even in its less visible forms. In convents and monasteries there have not only been cases of a sexual nature, but also abuses of power and conscience, practices in the face of which “conflicts, asymmetries of power, marginalization, unbalanced relationships” can arise, as Archbishop Verny warned during his speech.
The voice of the analysis was offered by the Claretian Fr. Krzystof Gierat, head of the office of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, who stressed that “every path of protection is born from a face, from a story that asks for listening, truth and care.” And he specified: “Protection cannot be treated as an added technical element, it is not a protocol that is attached to consecrated life.”
Fr. Gierat listed structural factors that favor abuse even in communities with seemingly exemplary norms such as the absence of a “healthy system” of relationships. A community, he said, can have “impeccable protocols,” but then ambiguous authorities appear, “informal” hierarchies by geographical origin, aggressiveness, unhealthy relationships, unpicked signals, ignored conflicts. “Even without bad intentions, all this becomes fertile ground for abuse,” he warned.
“Protection begins with the quality of the environment we breathe,” the religious stressed.
The priest also opened a particularly sensitive chapter: the impact of the digital world. Consecrated life, he recalled, can no longer be considered alien to social networks, chats or online exhibition. The risks are multiple: public image, privacy, digital grooming. “Protection is not only played out in the corridors of convents, but also in virtual spaces,” he lamented.
“Many abuses are born from authorities left alone and not adequately trained”
And he pointed out a key aspect: the need for “integral, spiritual and psychological formation” for religious superiors. “A transparent, evangelical and helpful authority is the first bastion of protection,” he said. “Many abuses are born from authorities left alone and not adequately trained. And all abuse is born from a lack of community discernment,” he added.
The meeting made it clear that the issue of abuse is not limited to ecclesial walls. For Stefano Mattei, policy director of Tutela Minorum, the purpose is also to “promote change” in society: “It is about putting the weight of the Church at the service of cultural change to protect children and the vulnerable,” he explained.
This commitment, he said, is possible thanks to the capillary presence of the Church, the richness of charisms and its insertion in very diverse contexts.
The reflections were completed with international experiences. From Germany, Franciscan Andreas Murk, provincial of the order, presented especially revealing figures: according to a 2019 survey, 1,412 people addressed the Conference of Superiors to say: “I have been abused.”
“Not everyone comes for money, they just want recognition”
Murk also detailed the work of the Unabhängige Kommission für Anerkennungsleistungen (UKA), in charge of managing compensation for victims of clerical abuse, with compensation of up to 20,000 euros.
To the question about the risk of false complaints, he replied forcefully: “For decades the victims were ignored; now we must concentrate on them.”
In his province, he explained, “one or two accusations were unfounded; forty others did not, and of them only five asked for money. Not everyone comes for money, they just want recognition.”
However, he warned, even today “some communities refuse to face the issue of abuse, they still do not have the necessary sensitivity. Our duty is to be active in this field, even if it is uncomfortable.”
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