Pope Francis and the Catholic Church’s response to sex abuse scandals

Pope Francis took unprecedented steps to address clerical sex abuse, but victims say the Catholic Church still has far to go.

Pope Francis prays during the opening of a global summit on child protection focused on addressing the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis, at the Vatican on February 21, 2019. Photo by Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

When Pope Francis assumed the papacy in 2013, he inherited a Catholic Church deeply wounded by global revelations of child sex abuse and decades-long cover-ups by its clergy. The institution’s moral authority had been severely damaged, and trust among believers was in sharp decline. From the outset, Pope Francis and the Catholic Church’s response to sex abuse scandals became one of the defining challenges of his papacy.

Although the pope initiated significant reforms and introduced legal changes, his efforts have received mixed reviews. Survivors and advocates argue that while Francis made strides where previous pontiffs faltered, his legacy remains clouded by inconsistency and missed opportunities for deeper reform.

Reform with limitations

Determined to signal a break from the past, Francis launched several initiatives to combat clerical abuse. In December 2014, he created an international commission tasked with advising the Vatican on safeguarding minors. The body included survivors, like Irish activist Marie Collins, who had been raped by a priest at age 13. However, the commission quickly became a flashpoint for criticism.

Collins resigned in 2017, accusing Vatican officials of sabotaging the commission’s work and refusing to cooperate. She described their behavior as "shameful" and noted that the resistance to change remained embedded within the Church hierarchy. Her resignation underscored the difficulty of implementing reform from within an institution with deeply entrenched power structures.

In March 2023, the last remaining founding member of the commission, German Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, also stepped down. Zollner cited unresolved concerns regarding transparency, accountability, and operational effectiveness — a blow to the credibility of the pope’s initiative.

A turning point in Chile

Perhaps the most pivotal moment in Pope Francis and the Catholic Church’s response to sex abuse scandals came in early 2018 during a papal visit to Chile. The country had been shaken by high-profile abuse cases, particularly those involving influential priest Fernando Karadima.

When Francis defended Bishop Juan Barros — accused of covering up Karadima’s crimes — and demanded "proof" from victims, his remarks triggered international outrage. Within weeks, however, the pope reversed course. After receiving a detailed report, he admitted to making "grave mistakes" in handling the case.

In an extraordinary move, Francis summoned all of Chile’s bishops to the Vatican. Following the meeting, every bishop submitted their resignation. This unprecedented act was hailed as a step toward accountability, though only a handful of the resignations were ultimately accepted.

The McCarrick scandal

Another major chapter in this ongoing saga came in February 2019 when Pope Francis defrocked Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal from the United States. The decision marked the first time a cardinal had been dismissed from the priesthood for sexual abuse of a minor.

McCarrick was a powerful figure who had long faced allegations of misconduct with adult seminarians. In 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Vatican envoy to the U.S., publicly accused Pope Francis of ignoring warnings about McCarrick’s behavior. The Vatican responded with a 2020 report acknowledging failures by multiple popes, particularly John Paul II. While the report conceded administrative oversights, it largely cleared Francis of personal wrongdoing.

The 2019 abuse summit

Later in 2019, Pope Francis convened a historic summit at the Vatican, bringing together leaders of 114 bishops' conferences, the heads of Eastern Catholic churches, and religious orders. The four-day event was devoted entirely to the protection of minors.

Survivors gave harrowing testimony, and German Cardinal Reinhard Marx — a papal adviser — admitted that some dioceses had likely destroyed records to conceal abuse. The pope used the occasion to vow an "all-out battle" against abuse, equating the crime to a form of human sacrifice.

Legal reforms and limitations

In the months that followed, Pope Francis and the Catholic Church introduced major legal changes. In December 2019, the Vatican lifted the secrecy rule that had long prevented victims from accessing Church trial records. It also mandated that all suspicions of abuse or cover-ups be reported to Church authorities.

In 2021, the Church updated its criminal code for the first time in nearly four decades. It explicitly addressed sexual abuse by clergy and included provisions for cases involving disabled adults. These reforms were praised as long overdue but also criticized for not going far enough.

One of the enduring complaints is that Church law still does not require clergy to report abuse to civil authorities — a critical point for survivors who argue that ecclesiastical processes are insufficient. Additionally, the seal of the confessional remains sacrosanct, meaning priests cannot be compelled to reveal abuse admissions made during confession.

A mixed legacy

Pope Francis met with survivors in multiple countries, including Ireland, Belgium, and Canada, where he issued public apologies and sought forgiveness. His efforts were undoubtedly more proactive than those of his predecessors.

Still, critics argue that the pope often stopped short of addressing the deeper, systemic causes of clerical abuse. When a sweeping French report in 2021 estimated that more than 330,000 children had been abused in the Church over seven decades, Francis reacted cautiously. He urged a critical reading of the report’s methodology and refrained from meeting its authors.

The case of Slovenian priest and artist Marko Rupnik also raised questions about consistency. Rupnik faced accusations of abusing adult women in a religious community in the 1990s. The Vatican initially appeared reluctant to act, but under growing pressure, Francis waived the statute of limitations in 2023 to allow proceedings to move forward.

An unfinished fight

Pope Francis and the Catholic Church’s response to sex abuse scandals will likely remain one of the most contentious elements of his papacy. While he broke ground by taking action against senior clergy, holding summits, and reforming canon law, many believe his reforms failed to uproot the institutional dynamics that allow abuse to persist.

His death leaves behind unfinished business. The global consultation process known as the Synod — aimed at shaping the Church’s future — was still underway at the time of his passing. Some hoped it would lead to a more transparent and inclusive institution. Others feared that the momentum for reform might fade without Francis at the helm.

As the Vatican prepares to elect a new pope, the question remains: will his successor continue Francis’s legacy of reform, or retreat into the conservatism that long defined the Church’s response to scandal?

Whatever the answer, the survivors of abuse and their advocates remain steadfast. For them, the legacy of Pope Francis is a step in the right direction — but still far from enough.