ROME, January 7, 2026 – As Pope Leo convenes his first extraordinary consistory in Rome, the world’s Catholic cardinals – the men who have overseen, enabled, and concealed the largest institutional sexual abuse scandal in modern history – will formally gather behind closed doors. These are the men who transferred known offenders, concealed criminal evidence from the public, obstructed justice, and facilitated hundreds of thousands of sexual assaults across generations. Absent from the consistory’s agenda is any plan to hold themselves accountable, dismantle the systems of secrecy they created, or take any concrete action to end the ongoing cycle of abuse and cover-up they have perpetuated.

On the day of Pope Leo’s election, SNAP delivered a letter outlining a clear and actionable roadmap to stop sexual abuse and institutional concealment within the Catholic Church. Instead of embracing that mandate, Pope Leo has moved the Vatican backwards. In his first interview, he dismissed the need for major reform, rejected instituting a universal zero-tolerance law, emphasized the rights of accused priests over the safety of children, and appointed a known enemy of transparency to succeed him in one of the Vatican’s most powerful offices overseeing bishops worldwide.

Since then, new whistleblower information has emerged, further demonstrating Pope Leo’s failure to comply with Vos estis lux mundi, the policy allegedly promulgated by Pope Francis to ensure accountability for bishops who mishandle abuse. Evidence shows that while serving as a diocesan bishop in Peru, Pope Leo failed to respond appropriately to reports that two priests sexually assaulted young girls – precisely the kind of conduct Vos estis was meant to address. 

“Justice is not on the agenda,” said Peter Isely, a SNAP spokesperson and himself a survivor. “This consistory brings together the very men who engineered the global cover-up of clergy sexual abuse, yet there is no plan to discipline perpetrators, no transparency, and no accountability for bishops who protected abusers.”

Survivors are no longer willing to wait for internal reform that never comes. This consistory will not bring justice, transparency, or safety for children. That is why SNAP survivors believe it is essential for the courts, lawmakers, and governments of civil society to step in and hold the Vatican accountable for its actions. Until church leaders face real consequences beyond their own closed systems, the abuse and cover-up will continue.