Reform of the kind we need – however much anger and frustration we are going to feel in the meantime – is going to be a long-term project in which we are all going to have to assume new responsibilities. All the more reason not to be swept away by emotions, but to maintain targeted, reasoned pressure on Rome and everywhere else in the Church. Read more.

Robert Royal: Presentations at the final day of the Vatican confab on abuse featured key speakers from Nigeria, Germany, and Malta. Good may come yet. Read more.

Robert Royal: The bishops now seem to have approval from Rome to act as they see fit in their circumstances. But will they be allowed to really do it? Read more.

Even before it opened, many people were dismissing the summit on the Protection of Minors as a diversion intended – more accurately – for the Protection of the Higher Ups, in the Vatican and elsewhere in the hierarchy. And it would be difficult to deny that one of the crucial sides of the abuse crisis, namely holding bishops and Church leaders accountable, has been insulated from the actual proceedings – with the weak excuse that, though important, it would dilute the focus on minors, who are the most vulnerable. Read more.

Many people – even many Catholics – who only follow Church matters vaguely, have been puzzled by the Vatican’s conspicuous lack of a sense of urgency about the sexual abuse crisis. Yes, there’s a “summit” on abuse that starts today, but only after months and with a program that looks very carefully stage-managed to keep the most troubling questions at a distance from the Vatican itself. Read more.

Robert Royal: People are happy that McCarrick has finally been defrocked, but now we need to deal with other abusers and their enablers. Read more.