Abuse victims want next pope to get serious on 'zero tolerance'

By Alvise Armellini

ROME (Reuters) - The next leader of the global Catholic Church needs to put the issue of clerical sex abuse at the heart of their papacy, victims' advocates said on Wednesday, criticising the legacies of the last three popes.

The Church has been shaken for at least three decades by scandals around the world involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

"We believe it should be the central issue in the conclave," Peter Isely, one of the founders of abuse survivors' group SNAP said in Rome, presenting a website that tracks allegations of cover-up by senior church officials.

The conclave, a secret meeting of cardinals to elect a new pope, is set to start on May 7.

Pope Francis, who died on April 21, reiterated pledges of "zero tolerance" made by his predecessor Benedict XVI, and introduced several reforms to tackle the issue. But their implementation has been patchy, campaigners say.

Benedict was accused in a 2022 report of failing to take action on alleged sex abuse cases when he was Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982. The pontiff, who resigned the papacy in 2013 and was 94 when the report was released, later acknowledged errors and asked for forgiveness. He died later that year.

Benedict, Francis and John Paul II, also faced criticism for their actions as related to the late U.S. ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The record of John Paul, who led the Church during 1978-2005, was further blemished by accusations that he turned a blind eye to the late Mexican Rev. Marcial Maciel, a great fundraiser for the Vatican who was also a serial paedophile.

"We're doing everything in our power (...) to challenge the hierarchy to elect someone who does not have the same history that Francis had, that Benedict had, that John Paul had," Sarah Pearson, another SNAP representative, said.

The issue of sexual abuse was one of the questions raised by cardinals in preparatory discussions ahead of next week's conclave, the Vatican said on Monday.

SNAP and other survivors' groups have called for all proven predator priests to be expelled from the Church and for bishops or cardinals found guilty of cover-up to be stripped of positions of authority.

A cardinal who was disciplined following allegations of sexual abuse, Jean Luis Cipriani Thorne, is taking part in the pre-conclave talks, but will not participate in the papal election since he is over the maximum voting age of 80.

Cipriani, formerly Peru's top Catholic cleric, denies any wrongdoing. In January, the Vatican confirmed press reports he had been subjected to restrictions "relating to his public activity, place of residence and use of insignia".

"This man has no place there (in pre-conclave talks), no place there. It's wildly inappropriate, and this is an example of what happens when a person does not lose their rank and title for what they have done," Pearson said.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Alex Richardson)