The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church is a metaphorical Russian doll, as each investigation reveals more victims and corruption. In the midst of the report from Pennsylvania’s investigation and the defrocking of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 190 bishops and clergy went to the Vatican for a summit.

The summit, which lasted four days and ended in late February, focused on sexual abuse of minors.

According to the Associated Press, summit organizer Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, who studied at the St. John Vianney Seminary at St. Thomas, said that while sexual abuse of adults needs attention, the summit had to focus on one purpose.

“Young people, minors don’t have a voice. They are kept in silence,” Cupich said. “This is about making sure their voice is heard.”

After years of covered-up abuse, it’s refreshing to see concrete efforts to end the misdeeds that hurt the victims and the universal church. Church leaders hold a lot of power; all laypeople, especially young people, should be able to trust the ones they confess their sins to, hear the Word of God from, and those from whom they seek spiritual guidance. Taking advantage of this trust is a betrayal.

When a priest celebrates Mass or hears confessions, he acts “in persona christi” — in the person of Christ. This duty is sacred, and church members expect their leaders to treat it with such importance.

The Vatican must acknowledge the suffering of the victims, bring justice to the abused, and ensure church members that this cycle of hurt and secrecy will never happen again.

Although ordained clergy act “in persona christi” during Mass and confession, they are not infallible in their daily lives. They sin, and the Vatican must recognize that they also commit crimes.

To not hold guilty clergy accountable for their actions continues the crime. Criminal authorities should be involved, and when a priest or bishop is found guilty, the church should act on its “zero-tolerance” policy and dismiss them.

The church has a history of placing clergy on pedestals, covering up or rejecting the accusations. Abusers hide behind robes, incense and an altar of deception to prey upon vulnerable souls.

Sometimes, the church administration helped them bury the accusations. The summit revealed that documented proof of sexual abuse was either destroyed or never created in an unknown number of German dioceses, with many other countries suspected as well.

The abuse is horrifying, and the secrecy only twists the knife.

Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx agrees. In his speech to the summit on Feb. 23, he stressed transparency, noting that “it is not transparency which damages the church, but rather the acts of abuse committed, the lack of transparency or the ensuing cover-up.”

The changes he called for include clear standards and rules for church processes, as much disclosure as possible on the number and details of cases, and reporting on judicial proceedings. These changes would prevent lingering doubts after investigations and establish credibility and trustworthiness within the church.

Standing in the way of concrete actions is pontifical secrecy, the rule of confidentiality when it comes to sensitive information on church governance. In the past, church officials have used pontifical secrecy as an excuse to not file reports regarding abuse in fear of breaking their vow of privacy. Speaking to the summit, Cupich stated that this should not be the case.

As the summit opened, Pope Francis distributed 21 proposals to end sexual abuse, including protocols to address accusations and approaches to include lay experts in investigations.

After the 2002 scandal, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committed to reporting accused priests to police and include lay experts in investigations.

Following the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report, the director of the Vatican’s press office said, “By finding almost no cases after 2002, the grand jury’s conclusions are consistent with previous studies showing that Catholic Church reforms in the United States drastically reduced the incidence of clergy child abuse.”

However, these reforms left much to be desired in the puzzle of the church, demonstrated by the bishop-sized missing piece that led to the defrocked McCarrick’s abuse of minors.

Archbishop of Bogotá Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez told the summit, “We have to recognize that the enemy is within.”

To hold bishops accountable, Salazar proposed an international code of conduct, similar to one put forth by U.S. bishops last year, expressing clear standards and penalties for addressing sexual abuse.

After the four days, church leaders concluded that more meetings would be required.

The sexual abuse scandal in the church revealed the disparity between the purpose of the church’s existence and what it became for the victims of abuse. A church should be a sanctuary, but these leaders turned it into a house of torment.

Although a lack of cases since the 2002 reforms is promising, it does not mean that the church can turn its back on the still-wounded victims or the wrong that has been done to them. It also does not mean that all cases are being or have been reported. More can be done to ease their suffering, and more can be done to ensure that these victims feel heard. Church leaders cannot be content with lower numbers. If the church wants to eradicate this evil and protect its identity as a haven, more concrete actions and transparency are required.

Kayla Mayer can be reached at maye8518@stthomas.edu.