What is the Work Grounded in?
Transitional and restorative justice. The framework of transitional justice comprises four elements: truth, justice, atonement, and guarantees of non-repetition. The Commission’s work begins with truth: establishing what happened as fully as possible through testimony, documentation, data, and other evidence. Bringing that truth to light recognizes the harm that occurred and affirms the dignity of victims and survivors. This recognition must then lead to action, including atonement and measures to prevent future abuse. It also marks a transition in focus from protecting an institution’s reputation to placing victims and survivors at the center of its response.
Restorative justice doesn't function as a separate phase. It marks the point where truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition converge. It aims to do more than establish facts or prevent further abuse. It seeks to rebuild the trust and bonds that abuse destroyed, a task that carries particular weight in the Church, where abuse damages pastoral authority and communal belonging. Restoration depends on the other three pillars rather than replacing them; without them, it collapses into an empty gesture. It does not mean forgetting the past or forcing reconciliation. Instead, it demands a gradual process: survivors must recover their voice and their standing as full subjects, while institutions must critically acknowledge what happened and transform their practices and exercise of authority. Only this combination can forge new relationships grounded in truth, responsibility, and care.
The principles. The final document highlighted three principles: evaluation, transparency, and accountability.
- Transparency: managing processes with honesty, integrity, responsibility, and effectiveness.
- Accountability: requires institutions to explain and take responsibility for their objectives, decisions, and results.
- Evaluation: enables well-founded and systematic judgments about the value, merit, or quality of a process.