Barrett Doyle also cited incidents where British and Polish authorities were denied access to Vatican-held records, despite requests relating to criminal investigations.
Launched by the Gillard government in 2012, the royal commission heard thousands of accounts of child sexual assault across schools, care homes, churches and youth detention centres. Its findings led to widespread reform recommendations, but survivors and advocates say international co-operation – especially from the Vatican – has been lacking.
Tagle, who served as archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020, also came under fire. Often referred to as the “Asian Francis” for his pastoral style and progressive tone, Tagle has been seen as a leading candidate to continue his reform agenda. But BishopAccountability.org says his record on tackling abuse is deeply troubling.
“He is a gentleman who weeps when he talks about victims, but what we found dismayed us,” Barrett Doyle said.
She said Tagle failed to implement meaningful reforms in the Philippines, where the Church wields immense political and social influence. She said guidelines for handling abuse had not been published by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines(CBCP) or Tagle’s former archdiocese, and in one case, the conference issued a document partly blaming children for abuse by clergy.
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“If Cardinal Tagle cannot even get his brother bishops from his home country to publish guidelines, what on earth can we expect for him to achieve as pope of a global Church?” Barrett Doyle said.
The CBCP issued a rare statement responding the claims, saying that addressing misconduct allegations was the responsibility of “the respective diocesan bishops or religious superiors”, not Tagle. It also noted the key role Tagle played in developing guidelines for dealing with sexual abuse cases when he was Manila’s archbishop.
A Vatican spokesman declined to comment about the accusations made against both cardinals.
Chrissie Foster, one of Australia’s highest-profile advocates for abuse victims, said after Francis’ death on Easter Monday that the Pope had had “years of opportunities to make sweeping changes to protect children from the sex crimes of his clergy” but “failed to do so”.
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“If the Pope had been serious about protecting children, he would have told, ordered, every bishop and archbishop in the world to hand over to police the secret archives on clergy crimes they hold,” Foster said. “Instead, the Pope blamed the devil for clergy criminal behaviour. But the devil cannot be taken to court nor incarcerated. It was a cop-out – just empty words.”
Rumours about Parolin’s health have swirled in recent days, with Italian media claiming the 70-year-old fainted from high blood pressure and required medical attention on Wednesday.
Holy See press office director Matteo Bruni has denied the various reports.
Barrett Doyle said both Parolin and Tagle represented broader systemic failings in the global church hierarchy, adding that she had concerns about nearly all papal contenders.
Asked if any candidates had shown leadership on the issue, she pointed to Boston’s Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, a member of Pope Francis’ anti-abuse commission.
“I don’t believe he is a hero,” she said. “But he has done a little more than everyone else and has no learning curve. He is perhaps the least bad of many bad options.”
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