A vocal critic of the Catholic church’s handling of clerical sex abuse has been dismissed from a Vatican commission examining the issue in a move that will fuel accusations that Pope Francis has done little to tackle paedophilia within the clergy.

Peter Saunders, a Briton who was abused by two priests as a teenager, was in Rome attending the advisory body’s weekend meeting when it was announced that he was taking a leave of absence.

“It was decided that Mr Peter Saunders would take a leave of absence from his membership to consider how he might best support the commission’s work,” said the advisory board, officially known as the pontifical commission for the protection of minors.



But Saunders told reporters on Saturday afternoon that he had been blindsided by the news, which he called “outrageous”.

“I was never told in advance of any such statement and I find it outrageous that I was not told, much less that the statement occurred before I had had any time to reflect on what I might do,” he said.



“I have not left and I will not leave my position on the commission. I was appointed by His Holiness Pope Francis and I will only talk to him about my position.”

Saunders told the Guardian in an earlier interview that he had no intention of resigning from the commission even though he was getting increasingly frustrated by its alleged lack of action on the abuse issue.

While the commission has been described as a policymaking body by some church officials – determining guidelines and best practices to avoid abuse – Saunders has long called for it to be far more aggressive, including addressing specific cases that have emerged all around the world. He has also questioned why the Vatican has not apparently made any progress on an abuse tribunal that was announced last year to hear cases of church officials who cover up abuse.

“A number of members of the commission expressed their concern that I don’t toe the line when it comes to keeping my mouth shut,” Saunders said hours after the news of his leave was announced.

“I made clear I would never be part of something that was a public relations exercise. There was a feeling around the table expressed in a vote that the commission could not work with me as things stood at the moment and unless I changed.”

“Our pope could do so much more to make things happen now. It’s incumbent on a commission appointed by him to impress on him the need to do things now, not years down the line ... I don’t see movement, I don’t see action over an issue that they should be absolutely furious about.”

He also revealed that the commission had received a report that two priests from Italy recently discovered that a colleague was abusing children, but that when they alerted their bishop to the abuse, he “instructed they remain silent”.

“That itself rips my heart apart...and sadly this happens all over the world,” he said.

The president of the commission, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, said Saunders had been asked to advise on “the possible establishment of a victim survivor panel to work with the commission”.

The development is likely to shock victims’ groups who had hailed the appointment of two abuse survivors – Saunders and Marie Collins, a victim from Ireland – when they were personally chosen by the pope to join the commission in 2014, to advise the Vatican on how to respond to clerical abuse.

Saunders was described as a “brave, honest and tireless voice for kids and victims” by David Clohessy, director of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap).

“They do what church officials have done for decades: shrewdly fixate on and discuss meaningless internal policies on paper that give the impression of progress while changing virtually nothing,” he said.

Saunders has long been a thorn in the Holy See’s side, even after being named on the commission. Last year, he called on the Vatican to sack its financial chief, Cardinal George Pell, over his alleged involvement in covering up abuse more than a decade ago. The Australian cardinal threatened to pursue legal action, while the commission sought to distance itself from Saunders’s “personal views”.

Saunders also urged the Vatican to take action against a Chilean bishop, Juan Barros, accused of covering up the sexual abuse of children by his mentor, Fernando Karadima. Barros denies the allegations and was last year appointed by Francis to the Osorno diocese in Chile.

Juan Carlos Cruz, one of Karadima’s victims, travelled to Rome this weekend with Saunders’ knowledge to present the pope with a letter about Barros. Saunders said on Saturday that the commission had been expected to discuss the ongoing controversy on Sunday.

“I thought it was an amazing opportunity if I were able to enable [Cruz] to contribute to that discussion, since he is in the middle of the eye of the storm. Abused as a youngster and being re-abused by these vile cardinals in Chile,” Saunders said.

Speaking alongside him, Cruz added: “The commission has become the laughing stock of survivors. They’re trying to say that child abuse is behind us and now it’s recovery time. It’s in no way the case. [The southern hemisphere] is still a playground for pedophiles and with bishops that still cover up.”

He expressed frustration with Francis, who has a reputation among many outspoken activists for not taking the issue seriously. Francis has met with abuse victims on two occasions since being named pope in 2013.

“No matter what we do, we always hit a brick wall with Pope Francis,” Cruz said.

Cruz is one of some alleged victims have claimed the Chilean bishop was aware of but did nothing to stop abuse by Karadima. The issue is known to be a sore point for the pope, who has staunchly supported Barros over the objection of priests and parishioners in Chile, and was seen on a video that was released last year disparaging Barros’s critics.



A video recording that showed Pope Francis telling a group of tourists at St Peter’s Square last year that Barros’s critics were “leftists” with political motivations, infuriated both Saunders and Cruz.

One commission member who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity contested Saunders’ version of events.

“We are deeply dedicated to the protection of children ... It’s not a public relations exercise,” the person said. The person added that Saunders had willingly accepted a leave of absence and left their meeting.

