The law only applies within the Church and has no force to oblige individuals to report abuse to civil authorities.
"Though this obligation was formerly left up to individual consciences, it now becomes a universally established legal precept" within the Church, said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Vatican's communications department.
Under the new measure, every diocese around the world is obliged by June 2020 to create a system for the reporting of sexual abuse by clerics, the use of child pornography and cover-ups of abuse.The document focuses particularly on the sexual or psychological abuse of children and vulnerable adults, but also targets sexual abuse and violence resulting from an abuse of authority - such as the exploitation of nuns by priests.
Pope Francis admitting publicly in February that priests have used nuns as"sexual slaves" - and may still be doing so.
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