International
The Vatican urges to end the opacity in abuse and to accelerate the resignation of pedophile religious
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, established by Pope Francis to tackle the scourge of abuse, has published its first annual report on Tuesday, in which it claims to end opacity and accelerate the resignation of religious pedophiles, among many other indications.
The report is the result of the study of twenty local churches in the ‘ad limita’ visits made in 2023 to the Vatican, including those of Mexico and Colombia (the bishoprics must travel to Rome every five years to inform the pope and the Curia of their situations).
Its objective, according to it is read, is “to provide the possibility of reporting on its results and recommendations” to the pope, who created this commission in 2014, but also to the “surviving victims” of abuse and to all the churches on the planet.
Among its main conclusions, the report calls for greater transparency and faster assumption of responsibility.
These are some of the indications that appear in the document:
End of opacity
The Church needs to promote victims’ access to information to face the “problem” of opacity in canonical processes. “Measures should be studied to guarantee the right of every individual to access any information that affects him, especially in cases and responsibility for abuses” (always in compliance with the data protection law).
The concept of vulnerability
Cases of abuse are not only with minors but the Church also recognizes them in “vulnerable” adults. Therefore, the commission advocates developing “a mostly uniform definition of vulnerability.”
Faster
The report admits that the victims still suffer civil and canonical processes “difficult, slow and a source of continuous victimization.” That is why he urges to “guarantee an effective, fast and rigorous management” of each case of abuse, also clarifying the role of each dicastery – “mystery” – of the Roman Curia.
Fulminant resignation
Another claim is to “speed up and accelerate the resignation process” of an ecclesial leader accused of abuse “as long as it is justified.”
Compensation
The report calls for “studying compensation policies” to exercise “rigorous” measures of reparation in the process of “healing” of the victims.
A teaching force against abuse
Likewise, the report calls for “even more development of the Magisterium of the Church” on its duty of protection, promoting among its clergy “the dignity of children” through a “unitary and theological-pastoral” vision.
Specialization
The church, in addition, must promote a process of “professionalization” among its members and provide those who are in contact with minors with “academic opportunities” of training endowed with “adequate resources.”
“Worrying facks”
The Commission’s first analysis has found that, while some ecclesiastical authorities demonstrate a clear commitment to protection, others are only “at the beginning of the exercise of responsibilities.”
In some cases, in fact, a “worrying lack” of structures for reporting and accompanying victims has been detected, which contradicts what the pope demands in his document ‘Vos estis lux mundi’ (2023) on the rules against sexual abuse.
“Continuous conversion”
This year the Pontifical Commission has celebrated ten years in which “there has been a growth of awareness of both the reality of sexual abuse within the Church and its mismanagement.” The publication of these reports aims to “facilitate a process of continuous conversion” within Catholic institutions.
Five years to cover everything
There are a total of 114 episcopal conferences on the planet, so the commission, led by American Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, aims to study them all within 5/6 years.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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