Pope Francis on Saturday updated the 2019 church law that obliges all priests and religious to report crimes of sexual abuse to the Vatican, extending it to lay leaders of international associations.
The new document enters into force on April 30, revoking the May 2019 version.
Francis reaffirmed and made permanent the temporary provisions of the previous law that were passed at a time of crisis in the Vatican and the Catholic hierarchy.
At the time, the legislation was praised for establishing precise mechanisms to investigate complicit bishops and religious superiors, but its implementation was uneven and victims criticized the Vatican for its lack of transparency.
The new rules are in line with other amendments to the treatment of abuse by members of the Catholic Church that have been issued since then.
More significantly, the new norms cover, in addition to clerics, moderators of associations approved by the Holy See.
This is in response to the many cases that have arisen in recent years of lay leaders abusing their authority to sexually violate those under their care.
The Vatican also reaffirms that even adults can be victims of predatory priests, such as nuns or seminarians.
Church law previously held that only adults who “normally” lacked the use of reason could be considered victims.
The new rule makes it clear that adults can be vulnerable to abuse even occasionally, depending on the context.
It establishes that a vulnerable being is “any person in a state of illness, physical or mental disability or personal deprivation that, even incidentally, limits their ability to understand or want or resist the crime.”
The text also requires all Church personnel to report allegations of clergy abuse internally, though it refrains from mandating police reporting. It also extends protection to whistleblowers and reaffirms the need to protect the reputation of the accused.
Victims have long complained about the Vatican’s stance, saying that for decades it turned a blind eye to bishops and religious superiors who covered up cases of abuse, transferring priests suspected of sex crimes to other parishes instead of reporting them to the authorities. authorities.
The 2019 law tried to respond to these complaints, but the victims blamed the Holy See for the secrecy of the investigations.
Source: TSF
