With orders from the Vatican, two priests from the United States have been placed in key roles in the Catholic Church's anti-abuse commission. The appointments of the priests, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley and Rev. Robert Oliver, came from Pope Francis himself.

O'Malley, a veteran of the Boston archdiocese, was named the president of the new commission, which is formally called the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and was created in December 2013 following numerous child sexual abuse scandals. Before this announcement, the Vatican had referred to O'Malley's role only as a member of the commission, but sources at the Crux said he was instrumental in organizing the group's activities.

Oliver has ties to the Chicago area but worked as an advisor to O'Malley in Boston on abuse-crisis related issues until 2012.Since then he has been doing work in the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He has now been named the Secretary of the anti-abuse commission.

During a phone interview, Oliver said he was proud of the church's steps to fighting against abuse.

"It's an honor to be able to help the church show some leadership," he said. "This is a chance to address all the issues that have to do with the protection of children, not just Catholics but children everywhere. This is such a great problem all around the world, and it's important for the church to be in the lead."

He added that he would be first helping O'Malley in filling the membership of the commission, bringing people from around the world to discuss the global issues associated with abuse. After that, Oliver will be in charge of day-to-day operations under O'Malley's supervision.

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