Pope’s sorrow for sex abuse victims is a beginning

Change has come at last. Anybody reading Pope Francis’s homily at a Mass for clergy sex abuse victims in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae cannot but feel the sorrow in his words and his determination to change the culture within the Church that failed to protect children.

This meeting will position awareness of abuse by clergy at the heart of the Church. The Church has also done a service to survivors in inviting Marie Collins onto its panel, ensuring that survivors’ voices will be heard.

If there is a criticism it is that nobody from the institutions was invited. Thousands of young people left the Church as a result of the failures of the congregations to properly ensure their safety while in care.