A top expert in the Catholic Church's battle against child sex abuse has said the coronavirus pandemic has increased the risks to minors as the world's priorities shift.
"I honestly believe that safeguarding minors in the Church, in the (United) States, in the (other) countries, has suffered a severe blow," said Hans Zollner, the Vatican's leading expert on measures to safeguard minors from sexual abuse within the church.
The pandemic had seen a significant drop in terms of public attention and funding, Zollner said Thursday during a webinar on child protection, according to the Catholic website Cruxnow.com.
"It may be very difficult for society and the Church to focus on the safeguarding of minors, because there are such pressing needs, there are such heavy burdens on people that they think safeguarding minors is an extra and you cannot afford to think about that because we need to survive first," he was quoted as saying.
"It's true, the need to survive is first, but there is also the need to respect and protect the dignity of all people, especially the most vulnerable," warned Zollner, who is the director of the Vatican's Centre for Child Protection.
The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse around the world by priests, and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy.
Pope Francis has made efforts to combat silence surrounding paedophilia in the Church, including passing a landmark measure last year to oblige those who know about sex abuse to report it to their superiors.
