Pope Francis is convinced that the scourge of abuse is a problem that does not pertain just to a single country.

Pope Francis’ crunch summit on child protection in February is poised to open a new chapter in the Church’s response to the clerical sexual abuse scandal, ending what has been a haphazard and inconsistent approach to child protection.

The Vatican on November 23 released details about the unprecedented 21-24 February 2019 global gathering of bishops underlining Francis’ desire for a collective, centralised and coordinated response to preventing abuse in the Church.

The Pope has asked clerical sex abuse victims and his child protection commission to help prepare for the meeting which will be attended by 180 participants, the vast majority of these presidents of bishops conferences from across the world.

On the organising committee, two of the most credible Church anti-abuse experts have been appointed. These include the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, a longtime Church prosecutor who is now the Pope’s point man in handling abuse cases, and Fr Hans Zollner, the Jesuit priest who runs the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.