Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law that requires all priests and the faithful to report crimes of sexual violence to the Vatican, extending it to leaders of international associations.
The new document comes into force on April 30, superseding the May 2019 version.
Francis confirmed and made permanent the provisional provisions of the previous law, which were adopted during the crisis in the Vatican and the Catholic hierarchy.
The law was praised at the time for establishing clear mechanisms for investigating bishops and religious figures involved, but its implementation was uneven, with victims criticizing 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 importantly, the new rules apply, in addition to clerics, to moderators of associations approved by the Holy See.
This is a response to numerous cases in recent years where lay leaders have abused their powers to sexually rape people in their care.
The Vatican also confirms that even adults can fall prey to predatory priests such as nuns or seminarians.
Previously, church law stated that only adults who “usually” had no mind could be considered victims.
The new rule makes it clear that adults can be abused even occasionally, depending on the context.
It states that a vulnerable being is “any person in a state of illness, physical or mental disability, or personal deprivation that, even casually, limits his ability to understand, desire, or resist crime.”
The text also requires all church personnel to report allegations of domestic clergy mistreatment, although it refrains from mandatory reporting to the police. It also extends protection to whistle-blowers and confirms 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 figures who covered up cases of abuse by transferring priests suspected of sexual offenses to other parishes instead of reporting them to the authorities.
The 2019 law attempted to address these complaints, but the victims accused the Holy See of secrecy in the investigations.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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