Juan Carlos Cruz is an abuse survivor and advocate who has the pope’s hear when it comes to clerical sexual abuse. In 2018, when Pope Francis went to Chile, he was asked about Juan Carlos’ abuser and his bishop’s cover-up. Francis dismissed Juan Carlos out of hand and called his accusations calumny.

Soon after, Francis sent investigators to look into abuse in Chile, and they came back with a 2600-page report saying Juan Carlos and his friends had been telling the truth. Pope Francis apologized, and the two have had a good relationship ever since.

On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Juan Carlos Cruz discuss Juan Carlos’ reactions to the Vatican’s report on former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and what reforms Juan Carlos believes should come next.

Watch a video version of this interview.

Links from the show:

Jesuitical Podcast | Juan Carlos Cruz: the survivor who changed the pope’s mind on sex abuse

Colleen Dulle | Top 5 Takeaways from the McCarrick Report

Does the McCarrick report exonerate Pope Francis? Yes and no.

Editorial | The McCarrick Report lacked an independent investigator. It shows.

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Juan Carlos Cruz on the McCarrick Report