Juan Carlos Cruz Archives

Papal safeguarding commission continues work online and in Rome

Apr 23, 2021

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued, members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors remained active in promoting outreach and providing new educational opportunities.

By Carol Glatz

‘Pope of the Little Guy’ caught up in the heavy lifting of reform

Mar 28, 2021

Pope Francis legendarily has a keen sense of justice and a hard-wired bias in favor of the underdog, but it’s also clear that Francis, like pretty much every reformer pope before him, is still struggling with the institutional translation of those core instincts.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Pope taps Chilean sex abuse whistleblower for Vatican panel

Mar 24, 2021

Pope Francis on Wednesday named a Chilean man who helped uncover a clerical sex abuse scandal to a Vatican commission that advises the pontiff on how to protect children from pedophile clergy.

By Frances D'Emilio

Survivors, bishops say legal campaign against Peruvian journo is ‘harassment’

Jan 13, 2020

As Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz faces ongoing legal threats over her reporting on a controversial Catholic lay group, both survivors and hierarchy have come to her defense, arguing that the onslaught of legal action against her amounts to “harassment” in a bid to stop her investigations.

By Elise Harris

Pope Francis in 2019: A year in pictures

Dec 30, 2019

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these images of the most vivid and important moments for Pope Francis in 2019 ought to capture what these events represent just as well, if not more, than any reporting or analysis.

By Elise Harris

Survivors, experts agree: End of pontifical secrecy a step toward transparency

Dec 19, 2019

When Pope Francis in a landmark move eliminated the so-called “pontifical secret” in clerical abuse cases on Tuesday, the decision turns out to be at least one instance when the Vatican, clerical abuse survivors and experts in child protection all agree.

By Elise Harris

Does the Church get it on sex abuse? Classic Catholic reply is, ‘sic et non’

Nov 17, 2019

A constellation of events spanning different continents and time zones has issued a reminder that the answer to the question of ‘does the Church get it?’ is messy, complicated and classically Catholic.

By John L. Allen Jr.