Pope announces rule to expose promiscuous bishops
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/05/pope-announces-rule-to-expose.html
Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, on Thursday, announced that
henceforth, bishops would be accountable for sexual abuses or cover ups
in their jurisdictions.
The pronouncement, which signalled a change in Catholic Church law
makes reporting of sexual cases obligatory for clerics and allows anyone
to complain directly to the Vatican if necessary.
The papal decree, which covers abuse of children and adults, also
obliges every Catholic diocese in the world to set up simple and
accessible reporting systems and encourages local churches to involve
lay experts in investigations.
The decree, whose preparation was reported first by Reuters in April,
is the second such papal provision since a summit on abuse by senior
Church bishops at the Vatican in February.
It sets time limits for local investigations and the Vatican’s response to them and allows for retroactive reporting.
It also says bishops with conflicts of interest should recuse
themselves from investigations and that they can also be held
accountable for abuse of power in sexual relations with adults.
The 19-article decree called “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” (You Are the Light
of the World), raises 16 to 18, the age of adulthood in cases of sexual
abuse.
It also covers possession of child pornography.
The decree says local Church officials cannot order those, who report
abuse to remain silent and that senior bishops should make provisions
to prevent documents from being destroyed by subordinates if needed.
It directed that clerics should follow local law on whether they are
obliged to report alleged sexual abuse to civil authorities.
Reactions: |