VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Wednesday named a Chilean man who helped uncover a clerical sex abuse scandal to a Vatican commission that advises the pontiff on how to protect children from pedophile clergy.
The Vatican said Juan Carlos Cruz is the latest member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Other members of the panel include a bishop, priest, nuns and laypersons.
Cruz and other survivors of a prominent Chilean predator priest were invited by the pope in 2018 to discuss their cases with him.
Decades of sex abuse scandals in many countries, including many involving church hierarchy who covered up for pedophile priests, have eroded the Catholic church’s credibility among the faithful.