Women's rights activist criticises the Pope's silence on abuse

Catholic women's rights activist Theresia Iswarini has expressed her disappointment after Pope Francis' meeting with clergy, women religious and catechists that he did not talk about sexual abuse within the Church. "Abuse should be the most important issue in the Church," said Iswarini, who is a member of the state commission on violence against women. The meeting took place on Tuesday at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jakarta.

"So far, the Archdiocese of Jakarta is the only one of the 38 dioceses with a standard procedure for dealing with cases of abuse and for pastoral and psychosocial support for victims," said Iswarini. Iswarini has two explanations for the hesitancy of the other dioceses - the Indonesian Bishops' Conference had already published guidelines on this in 2020. "Some dioceses want to, but lack the capacity. Others are more interested in protecting the reputation of the church than in providing help and justice for the victims."

Iswarini hopes that the Pope has used his influence behind closed doors in dialogue with the bishops. "He is the most progressive pope and is determined in his mission to eliminate sexual abuse in the Church," said the women's rights activist, who is part of the working group in the Archdiocese of Jakarta for the implementation of the protocol for dealing with cases of sexual abuse. (KNA)