Pope Leo signals continuity on fighting child abuse with Vatican appointee
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Verny, 59, replaces American Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston. O'Malley was the founding president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory group Pope Francis established in 2014 to advise the church on best practices to fight abuse and protect children.
As the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission initially lost influence, while its crowning recommendation – the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests – went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse.
Verny, who is currently the bishop of Chambery, France, has been a member of the commission since 2022 and heads the child protection council of the bishops conference in France, where the church has been rocked by revelations of decades of abuse by priests and bishops. He was among commission members who met with Leo last month.
The bishop has been responsible for doing an annual audit of the French church's centres for receiving victims, an initiative that was started after a devastating 2021 report into the French scandal estimated 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over the past 70 years by church personnel.
Members of the association Mouv'Enfants during a demonstration against alleged abuse outside 'Le beau Rameau', a French Catholic secondary school and high school complex in Lestelle-Betharram, southwestern France, on February 12. Photo: AFP
Cardinal O'Malley praised the appointment, saying Verny has developed in-depth experience helping victims and working with law enforcement and civil authorities to ensure accountability 'for the serious failures of the church in France.'
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