Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston, the president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said that Pope Francis’s decision to place the commission under the auspices of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the reorganization of the Curia marks a “watershed moment.”

“For the first time, the Pope has placed the importance of child protection as core of the Church’s central government,” he said. “The Holy Father has given the commission a clear mandate to animate the entire Church from within the Roman Curia on the subject of child protection.”

Cardinal O’Malley made his remarks on April 29, the same day the Pope assured the commission that it would retain its independence, and three days after the Pope changed canon law to end the automatic dismissal of members of religious institutes who have been found guilty of rape, child pornography, and the sexual abuse of minors and other vulnerable persons.