Pope Francis updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse.
Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when they are unable to freely consent.
"The Catholic people were promised that would be 'revolutionary,' a watershed event for holding bishops accountable. But in four years, we've seen no significant housecleaning, no dramatic change," said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an online resource that has identified 40 bishops investigated globally under the new protocols.
The update also reaffirms that adults such as nuns or seminarians who are dependent on their bishops or superiors can be victims of abuse. Church law had long held that only adults who"habitually" lack the use of reason could be considered victims in the same sense as minors. "This can be read as further manifestation of how the church cares for the frailest and weakest," said Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the Vatican's legal office."Anyone can be a victim, so there has to be justice. And if the victims are like these , then you must intervene to defend their dignity and liberty."
The 2019 law and its update Saturday contain explicit standards for investigating bishops and superiors, but entrusts other bishops to do the work. It also mandates all church personnel to report allegations of clergy abuse in-house, though it doesn't mandate reporting of abuse by lay leaders and refrains from requiring any reporting to police. The new law expands whistleblower protections and reaffirms the presumption of innocence of the accused.
"Maybe upwards of two-thirds of the bishops' conferences around the world haven't really had the type of capacity-building and resources to implement process this in any meaningful way," said the Rev. Andrew Small, secretary of the pope's child protection advisory board.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pope Francis expands law seeking more accountability on church abuse casesPope Francis updates church law aimed at seeking more accountability on sex abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults can also be abuse victims
Read more »
Pope extends sexual abuse law to include lay leadersPope Francis on Saturday updated rules on dealing with sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, expanding their scope to include lay Catholic leaders and spelling out that both minors and adults can be victims.
Read more »
Another victim comes forward, claims physical and sexual abuse at group home run by Catholic Diocese of Cleveland“It was very hard for me,” said Cherice Peoples. “When I got out, I almost committed suicide.”12
Read more »
Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victimsVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up cases of sex abuse, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults can also be victims of abuse when they are unable to consent.
Read more »
Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victimsFrancis reaffirmed and made permanent the temporary provisions of the 2019 law that were passed in a moment of crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy.
Read more »