Vatican City, Feb 23, 2019 / 11:29 am
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said Saturday that administration and transparency will be key to rebuilding the trustworthiness and credibility of the Church after its mishandling of past cases of clerical sexual abuse.
"A fully-functional Church administration is an important building block in the fight against abuse, and in dealing with abuse," Cardinal Marx of Munich and Freising said in his keynote address at the Vatican sex abuse summit Feb. 23.
Transparency with clearly-defined, public procedures is "a decisive factor in the trustworthiness and credibility of the Church. Let us take a courageous step in this direction," he said.
The German cardinal's speech praised administrative transparency for its ability to create order, uncover errors, and regulate infringements against the common interest and the "sinfulness of humanity," as well as provide evidence that can restore the reputation of a wrongly-accused person, who would otherwise be subjected to rumors.