Has Pope Francis Failed to Root Out Clergy Sexual Abuse?

This February marked the fifth anniversary of one of Pope Francis' seminal efforts to confront clergy sexual abuse: the first-of-its-kind 2019 Vatican summit about abuse prevention with the heads of the world's Catholic bishops' conferences. Looking back now, one of the leading U.S. advocates for clergy abuse survivors told National Catholic Reporter that although the summit resulted in "massive public awareness building" about clergy abuse, its wider impact has been "minimal." Anne Barrett Doyle, who has tracked clergy abuse over decades as a co-director of the BishopAccountability.org website, in particular singled out for criticism Francis' signature clergy abuse reform Vos Estis Lux Mundi, first issued after the summit.