Hans Zollner Lockdown Fears
ROSARIO, Argentina – Father Hans Zollner, arguably one of the most prominent Church officials working on abuse prevention, says he understands the frustration some victims feel upon not seeing “immediate impact” from Rome on their cases, while at the same time underlining that “substantial change” has been made.
“I can understand that people don’t see the immediate impact if they have specific cases or points that they would like to see changed. The responsibility for all this doesn’t lie only in Rome, it’s very often the local level where things aren’t carried out,” said the German Jesuit. “How much that applies to the McCarrick report, I cannot say since I am not involved in it at all.”
The McCarrick report refers to a long-promised investigation into former American cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from the priesthood by Pope Francis after accusations that he abused minors and seminarians throughout his career.
Zollner, the director of the Center for Child Protection of Rome’s Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, spoke with Crux on Sept. 23 about the commission’s latest meeting, that saw most participants attending “virtually” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.