Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in an important new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.
The law makes the world's 415,000 Catholic priests and 660,000 religious sisters mandated reporters. That means they are required to inform church authorities when they learn or have"well-founded motives to believe" that a cleric or sister has engaged in sexual abuse of a minor, sexual misconduct with an adult, possession of child pornography — or that a superior has covered up any of those crimes.
The law defines the crimes that must be reported as: performing sexual acts with a minor or vulnerable person; forcing an adult"by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts," and the production, possession or distribution of child pornography. Cover-up is defined as"actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid" civil or canonical investigations.
Victims and their advocates have long complained that bishops and religious superiors have escaped justice for having engaged in sexual misconduct themselves, or failed to protect their flocks from predator priests. Bishops and religious superiors are accountable only to the pope, and only a handful have ever been sanctioned or removed for sex abuse or cover-up, and usually only after particularly egregious misbehavior became public.
The law makes clear he can use lay experts to help, a key provision that is already used in many dioceses to give bishops expert advice on handling cases from people with law enforcement or medical backgrounds.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)
Just not good enough Pope Francis. Absolutely no mention of reporting sexual abuse crimes by the clergy to civil authorities for civil prosecution! This is another Vatican cop out! Same old story. Reform the Catholic Church. VaticanCopsOut Auspol NothingsChanged
Es más importante que cada incidente sea reportado a la policía.
Es importante que cada incidente sea reportado a la policía.
Dear Pope Francis UNO has no power ,to take any decision in favour of poor countries because of the veto by super power, than the poor countries suffer
Better ides Pontifex who helped conceal crimes have them report abuses to police and newspapers. The church cannot be trusted to self police. Catholic
My question is why this not handled by the authorities and put these sick in jail. Not push money at the problem. What's the Pope going to do?
What, so they have a more senior manipulator able to do a better job at covering it up?
This, as they say, wasn't a thing?
How about keeping a record of the accusations and turning the perps over to legal authority?!! You have protected PEDOPHILES within the church for DECADES. May God have mercy on your soul.
Yes. Let's report it to people who are also probably engaging in sexual misconduct..
To church authorities Oh dear they still haven’t learned.
🙏🏻
licky split 50 to 60 years later you do something about the abuse after the abusers are dead. What a joke
But to them it`s like reporting on God, or some kind of superhero. The Batman himself or whatever the female counterpart. Obedient people don`t question authorities to begin with. That`s the whole reason communism and socialism and pope and Hollywood can exist. authority abuse
Church authorities? How about if you know a priest is molesting children you CALL the POLICE! Disgraceful
sunny The first pope to take positive action to deal with this issue. God bless him.
No more reporting to church authorities. That’s why we have decades of priests raping children. Report it to the police. The Church is the problem.
They should report them to the police.
Celibacy is sexual abuse. Report the Pope😳
They weren’t already required to do so? Maybe that was part of the problem.
So the church authorities can cover it up
They need a law that to tell them to report a crime?
He finally did something right. This is an important law, considering who he supports and is joining. They are real sexual predators.
I feel like this should happen regardless of a law...especially in the Catholic Church.
Lol it’s 2019. Took you guys a few fucking years
WHERE IS THE CHURCH’S “FRANK SERPICO?”
sunny Sorry....too little, too late for me!
The pope wouldn't have to do this if he would eliminate the man made tradition of priest and nuns can't marry.
How about CALLING THE COPS you hypocrites
How about CALLING THE COPS you hypocrites.
sunny To 'church authorities' lol, what a joke.
Like we don’t know who they are !
There are bunch of sick devils
How about reporting it to the police instead? I’d feel better if the church stopped policing itself on criminal matters.
I like Francis pretty well, he's the best of the Popes so far, but they should be reporting these things to the police, not 'church authorities'. These are horrible crimes and 'church authorities' don't have a very good track record with these things.
sunny Report the abuse to abusers
How about to the police and fbi. The church hasn’t done squat about this issue ever. Including lately
So what were they doing before if not reporting it? Oh yeeeeaaah covering it up, which is what they continue to do. abusers
sunny So the 'Church Authorities' could cover it up ? ... Well we got something called ' JUSTICE '. Nobody is above the law. Not even the 'Church Authority ' or what ever that is.
Yes, so they can be further covered up.
sunny 50 years to late
They just started doing that sexabuse childabuse clergy
Church authorities? Why not the police?
A Law? it was optional to have to report sexual abuse? WTF
LoL, it is already law
Too Little Way Too Late ... SHAME SHAME SHAME On you and worldwide legal systems!
Amazing and sick that this needs to be put into “law”.
IT IS A GOOD START
100+ years late; read the Bible for the correct answer as to what Paul said, seeing too that you don't ordean signal 16 priest & think they will not be messing with Children after you been around 60+years!
Nice demon face on the wall.... blatent symbolism romanempire demons
This wasn't already a law?
See different spirit you lost is nearby onusta compca sivilo nother send amenio to loka esa gaio vena
Nice try, how about reporting the abusive perverted priests to law enforcement. The Catholic Church does not have a very good track record of punishing abusive priests.
Finally after 1200 years.
Only 2000 years too late..
Shockingly naive of me to have thought this was already a “law”...
he's a law maker now?
What a shame.
Good morning Bergoglio. Maybe revisit your list of promoted sex prediators and cover up adminstrators?
Promising safety for those who report?
All this does is tell church officials to continue the practice of covering up sexual abuse by priests. Direction should be to immediately report charges of sexual abusers to CIVIL AUTHORITIES.
Check all Synagogue for 'Unholy Items'
I love papa Francesco, I am cradle Catholic, but reporting to law enforcement would be better.
Yeah that's so much better than reporting to actual authorities
How about to local law authorities?
Report the abuse to church authorities and then what happens? More cover ups? How about reporting it to law officers or court system?
. Let priests get married. A man need to empty.
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