Sending a message to participants in a safeguarding conference in Panama, Pope Francis called on Church institutions to eradicate situations that protect abusers who hide behind their positions of authority.   Vatican News reported on 12th March 2024 that Pope Francis went on to call for the Church to root out structures that protect people who abuse others.

“In terms of prevention, our efforts must undoubtedly aim to eradicate situations that protect those who hide behind their position to impose themselves on others in a perverse manner, but also to understand why they are incapable of relating to others in a healthy way.”

The Pope noted that any society not based on the premises of moral integrity “will be a sick society,” whose relationships will wind up perverted by selfishness, fear, and deceit.