As cardinals gather at the Vatican for the conclave starting May 7 to elect a new pope, a prominent watchdog group has issued a stark warning: neither of the leading contenders, Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle, would bring meaningful reform to the Catholic Church’s handling of clerical sexual abuse.
At a press conference just outside the Vatican, Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, criticized both cardinals, accusing them of inaction and secrecy. “If Cardinal Parolin becomes pope, we will have a consummate secret-keeper running the Catholic Church,” said Doyle, arguing that transparency around abuse cases would be “dashed completely.”
Doyle claimed Parolin, who served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State under Pope Francis, was responsible for withholding critical documents from civil authorities in abuse investigations in countries like Chile, Britain, and Poland. In Australia, a royal commission investigating clerical abuse identified over 4,400 child victims, but Vatican cooperation was minimal, providing files on only two priests.
Cardinal Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila and a politically influential figure in the Philippines, was also criticized for failing to enforce transparency in his home country. Doyle noted that there are no publicly available guidelines on abuse from either the Archdiocese of Manila or the national bishops’ conference. “If Cardinal Tagle cannot even get his brother bishops to publish guidelines, what can we expect him to achieve globally?” she asked.
Although there is no direct evidence linking Tagle to cover-ups, survivors and advocates say his tenure lacked proactive measures. Michal Gatchalian, a Filipino lawyer and survivor of abuse, said that under Tagle’s leadership, there was “no noticeable effort” to tackle the crisis. “Doing nothing is still the same as covering up,” he said.
Shay Cullen, an Irish priest and child advocate in the Philippines, echoed these concerns, saying Tagle lacked the commitment needed to protect children.
With the conclave looming, campaigners remain deeply skeptical that the Church is ready for real reform. “No matter how nice a man becomes pope, I don’t believe the Church is yet ready to change the page on child sexual abuse,” Doyle concluded.
