As the Catholic Church prepares for the conclave to elect a new pope, cardinals are confronting the most pressing issues facing the faith today. Evangelization, interfaith relations, and internal reforms were high on their agenda — but so was addressing past wrongs that continue to haunt the Church. (Editor's note)

Vatican City, Holy See — For decades, the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests was covered up by the Church. But cardinals on Monday listed it as a key challenge for the next pope.

In a meeting to prepare for the election of a successor to Pope Francis, in a conclave starting 7 May, cardinals outlined "evangelization, the relationship with other faiths (and) the issue of abuse" as the Church's most pressing challenges.

It was a statement welcomed by Anne Barrett Doyle, a long-time campaigner who co-founded BishopAccountability.org, which collates information on abuse.

"The Church worldwide, through its parishes, schools, hospitals and orphanages, cares for tens of millions of children," she told AFP.

"The next pope's most sacred obligation must be to protect them from abuse. Their safety is at stake, as is the moral authority of the church."

Francis, who died on 21 April, did more than any other pontiff to tackle the scourge of abuse, which appeared to overwhelm his predecessor, German Benedict XVI.

But critics say the Argentine's actions during 12 years as pope fell well short of the "zero-tolerance" he promised.

"What we need from the next pope is meaningful action, not more rhetoric," said Barrett Doyle.

"We need him to enact a universal church law permanently removing all proven child molesters from public ministry. 

"We need him to release the names of the thousands of priests found guilty to date under church law."

'Our shame'

When Francis took over in March 2013, the Church was struggling to respond to an avalanche of revelations, and many Catholics were horrified.

A turning point came in 2018, during a trip to Chile.

Francis, the Church's first Latin American pope, initially strongly defended a local bishop against allegations he covered up the crimes of an elderly priest.

But he went on to admit to making "grave mistakes" in the case — a first for a pope — and later forced the resignations of all Chile's bishops.

Within months, he showed he would take action, by defrocking US cardinal Theodore McCarrick after he was found guilty by a Vatican court of sexually abusing a teenager in the 1970s.

McCarrick died earlier this month in the United States, aged 94.

In 2019, Francis moved to make lasting changes in how the Church dealt with abuse, which he called "our shame".

The apostolic letter "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" made it mandatory to report sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people, and any cover-up, and set out a procedure on how to deal with cases.

In a major shift, the pope also lifted the so-called "pontifical secret" surrounding accusations, trials and decisions relating to such abuse.

'Half-measure'

But clergy are still not obliged to report abuse to civil authorities under Church codes, and anything said in the confessional box remains sacrosanct.

Vos Estis Lux Mundi "didn't require external oversight," noted Barrett Doyle. 

"It didn't require transparency to the public, disclosure to the public, and it didn't involve even reporting to law enforcement.

"It was, in a way, a continuation of what we have always had."

In a February 2025 stock-take, the SNAP victims' association said that in reality the Vatican continued to withhold documents on abuse cases, and also condemned the mandatory reporting as a "half-measure".

Both of them are now turning their attention to the next pope.

Barrett Doyle has travelled to Rome to press her case.

And SNAP has set up a dedicated website, ConclaveWatch.org, to examine individual cardinals' records on dealing with abuse.

"The last three popes have all covered up clergy sex abuse. We cannot afford a fourth," it said.

(Source: Alice RITCHIE, Agence France-Presse)