The Vatican summit on the Protection of Minors in the Church has ended, and its effectiveness is being debated widely in the press.  Did it succeed in making progress on preventing and dealing with clergy sexual abuse?  Are the survivors of sexual abuse pleased or not with the results?  Is there hope that the Catholic Church will be different because of what transpired over three days of meetings in Rome?

A main theme at the summit was how the problem of clericalism has hampered the life of the Church and has been the main cause of the sex abuse crisis.  Although clericalism had emerged as an important theme before the summit, it was amazing to see how many speakers condemned it as a significant problem that the hierarchy must work to eradicate.

Summit the Beginning of the End of Clericalism? – New Ways Ministry