Pope Francis, between reality and representation

Pope Francis, between reality and representation

VATICAN CITY (VATICAN CITY)
Monday Vatican [Rome, Italy]

January 23, 2023

By Andrea Gagliarducci

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The news that the French priest and psychiatrist Tony Anatrella has been barred from public life, but not reduced to the lay state, after his final conviction for abuse, has arrived for Pope Francis while the echoes of the Rupnik case have not yet quiet down. The decision in the Anatrella case demonstrates once again that, despite the great attention of the media, Pope Francis has not deviated much from his predecessors in his decisions in the fight against abuse.

Pope Francis has established a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and the Pope indeed convened a summit of the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from all over the world in February 2019 to discuss how to deal with the issue. Also, after the meeting, the Pope took some measures to help better address the clergy abuse scandal.

All of this, however, must be read in a broader context. Probably, the decisions of Pope…