JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
In the lead up to conclave, the Vatican says sexual abuse is among the issues cardinals are discussing this week, along with what qualities the new pope will need to face that challenge. NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose reports from Rome that survivors are shining a spotlight on some cardinals they say have covered up abuse.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: When she heard cardinals were talking about how the next pope would need to confront child sexual abuse, Sarah Pearson was heartened.
SARAH PEARSON: That's evidence that what survivors have been doing is working.
DEROSE: Pearson is with SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Her group has launched a project called Conclave Watch. It's a website that profiles various cardinals and outlines what those church leaders have done and left undone.
PEARSON: We're using their system to file these reports, but we're also taking the investigation outside of the hands of these Vatican officials and putting it in the hands of survivors.
DEROSE: Pope Francis' decree "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" allows any bishop or cardinal to be reported and investigated for abuse or cover-up. Conclave Watch includes the formal reports SNAP has sent to the Vatican along with any supporting evidence they've gathered. Peter Isley is one of the group's founders. At age 13, he was sexually abused by a priest.
PETER ISELY: Each one of these cardinals have dozens and dozens of priests in their diocese that have been known to abuse children. That's a fact. So what have they done with these cases? People need to know their record.
DEROSE: Isley is encouraging cardinals to use the site to essentially research each other before they vote. In the U.S., the Catholic Church removes from ministry priests found guilty of abusing children, but that's not the case around the world. To change that disparity, Isley says Conclave Watch also includes a proposal for a new canon law written by both international human rights experts and canon lawyers. It would make the U.S. standard global.
ISELY: We wanted to make sure that this law was properly written, that it met both the standards of international law and canon law.
DEROSE: And would help the church protect children. Back in 2019, church leaders rejected a similar proposal, saying it endangered innocent priests in areas hostile to Catholics. This week, around the Vatican, Isley and others from SNAP are handing out copies of that model legislation to cardinals as they prepare to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church.
Jason DeRose, NPR News, Rome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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