human growth and development

Marie Collins quits Vatican Commission

The article involves a case study of Marie Collins who was subjected to sexual abuse by a priest
from Ireland at the age of 13 years. There has been undergoing a lot of frustrations since
she was young whenever she encounters a priest who has sexually molested any minor wh0o. As a
plan to take action against all the priests who are found guilty of sexually abusing a minor,
Catholic Church in Rome decided to form a commission that will be investigating such matters
and reporting to Pope Francis in order for necessary measures to be taken against the priest
involved. This committee was set up in 2014, and it included two victims of sexual abuse by the
priests, one of them being Marie Collins.
The case study involved critics concerning the way commission implements decisions
concerning the priests who were found guilty of sexual abuse by Marie Collins. As one of the
members of the commission, she was not pleased by the decisions that were made by her fellow
members concerning all the cases presented to them by the victims. The commission involved
Marie Collins and Peter Saunders represented all the victims of sexual abuse. Unfortunately,
Peter Saunders was suspended from the Commission after accusing the panel that it had utterly
failed to perform concerning all the cases presented. After her colleague had been suspended,
Ms. Collins was left in a dilemma concerning the negligence and reluctance to implement proper
measures by the Commission. She decided to resign from the commission so as to maintain
her integrity.
According to her, the commission was faced with a lot of barriers that could not make it
efficient concerning the implementation of the set rules and accessing any cooperation from
different departments within the Vatican. The commission had not enough resources that could
enable it to carry out the recommended duties effectively. She felt that her integrity was
compromised because some of the departments in the Vatican failed to agree with the
recommendations that all the people complaining about the clerical abuse should be addressed.
According to her, she felt so guilty after seeing the level of neglect and reluctance by the
commission in the Vatican concerning the issue of solving the grievances raised by the victims who
have been molested by Catholic Priests.
In all the three years she served as a commission member, Ms. Collins had never had a
chance to meet with the pope so as to address her feeling concerning the state of the commission
and the policies put in the system to determine the fate of sexual abuse perpetrators among the
minors. According to her, she would have urged the pope to mandate the commission the power
to effect its recommendations, increasing its financing and helping in the hiring of external
experts. A report by a known catholic movement whose primary objective is to support the
victims of sexual assault showed how its members were annoyed by the resignation of Ms.
Collins who was the only victim of sexual abuse left in the commission. They believed that she
was capable of representing the grievances of the minors and preventing them from being
molested by priests.
The case of Marie Collins is an excellent example of human growth and development
because she was subjected to sexual abuse at a very tender age and grew up with a lot of
frustrations and trauma. Once she was chosen as one of the commission members, she fully
fought for the rights of the minors, and when she realized that things were not working the way
they ought to, she decided to quit. The action of Ms. Collins teaches me how one should be
loyal to the responsibilities mandated and display a high level of transparency and correctness
where possible.

Works Cited

POVOLEDO, E., & PIANIGIANI, G. (2017, March 1). Abuse Victim Quits Vatican
Commission, Citing ‘Resistance.' The New York Times [New York], p. A10. Retrieved
from https://www.nytimes.uk/2017/03/01/world/europe/vatican-abuse-panel-marie-
collins.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSex%20Crimes&action=click&contentCo
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