 Cardinal Sean O'Malley was among eight people, including four women, named by the pope to a panel to guide the Vatican’s anti-abuse inquiries. Pope Francis on Saturday named Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston and seven other figures with reputations as reformers to guide a new Vatican antiabuse commission, a move intended to demonstrate resolve about confronting the child sexual abuse scandals that have rocked Catholicism. The eight inaugural members include Marie Collins, who was assaulted as a 13-year-old by a hospital chaplain in her native Ireland and has gone on to become a prominent campaigner for accountability in the church. She is an activist for child safety within the Catholic Church and has been vocal about how she was snubbed by her local parish and told to “protect the priest’s good name” when she accused him. Collins has acquired an international reputation as a campaigner for the rights of abuse victims. SNAP, the main U.S. victim's group also praised her inclusion but said the pope doesn't need another study panel, he just needs to oust complicit bishops. Though early reaction suggests some critics of the church’s response to the abuse scandals see the announcement as a public relations exercise, a Vatican spokesman said it reflects the late Pope John Paul II’s statement that “there is no place in the priesthood or religious life for those who would harm the young.” 
 
 In a sign of personal interest, Pope Francis also named a fellow Argentine and Jesuit priest, the Rev. According to Vatican spokesperson Father Thomas Rosica, the Argentine, Humberto Miguel Yáñez, is a professor of moral theology who spearheaded the Symposium on the Sex Abuse of Minors two years ago. The commission, announced Saturday by the Holy See press office, is made up of four women, one of whom is a victim of sex abuse by a priest, and four men – only three of whom are clerics. Two other members are professors at Rome's Jesuit Pontifical Gregorian University, which in 2012 hosted a seminar for bishops from around the world to educate them on best practices to protect children. In what is seen as a nod to the late Pope John Paul II, Francis also named the Polish ambassador to the Holy See, Hanna Suchocka, who is a constitutional law professor and former prime minister of Poland and the winner of several awards for her work on human rights. The group’s final member is Italian canon law professor Claudio Papale, who specializes in crimes against morality. Francis also appointed noted French psychologist Catherine Bonnet, who has written extensively about child sex abuse, and Baroness Sheila Hollins from the United Kingdom who is an expert in mental health. ■ Baroness Sheila Hollins, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and current president of the British Medical Association who has frequently consulted on child development issues in the United Kingdom. Writing in the Boston Globe, Vatican expert John Allen points out an interview Francis gave to an Italian newspaper in which he actually defended the church’s record on abuse, saying the Catholic Church “is perhaps the lone public institution to have moved with transparency and responsibility . yet the church is the only one to have been attacked.” 
 
 Just days later, the American advocacy group BishopAccountability.org released records purporting to show that the future pope had failed to act aggressively on five cases involving priests accused of abuse in Argentina, though only one of those priests was actually ever under his direct authority. “They do not need yet another ‘Study Commission.’ The pope must take strong steps right now to protect kids, expose predators, discipline enablers, and uncover cover-ups.” 
 
 In part, Francis’ choice of O’Malley may reflect that he is the American cardinal closest to the pope, being the only one to have stayed in Francis’ residence in Buenos Aires before his election. “Pope Francis has made clear that the Church must hold the protection of minors amongst her highest priorities,” Lombardi said in a statement.
– Pope Francis has created a commission to advise him on priest sex abuse, but it's unclear whether the group will wield any power against abusers and bishops who cover up for them, report the Daily Beast and the AP. The commission consists of four men, three of whom are priests, and four women, all laity, one of whom was sexually abused by a priest and advocates for child safety in the Catholic Church. Another woman, French psychologist Catherine Bonnet, has written at length about child sex abuse. But it's not clear exactly what the commission will do—Pope Francis preferred to let its members work out the details, the Boston Globe reports. Broadly speaking, the commission will advise on policies that safeguard children, keep abusers from becoming priests, and train members of the church. Francis created the commission after remarks he made defending the church's record on abuse led to a political firestorm, with one group accusing him of stonewalling on five alleged abuse cases as archbishop in Buenos Aires. And critics are still skeptical: "They do not need yet another 'Study Commission,'" said a victim advocacy group. "The pope must take strong steps right now to protect kids, expose predators, discipline enablers, and uncover cover-ups." (For more, see why Francis called some priests "little monsters.")