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Vatican department to judge bishops accused of covering up child abuse Vatican department to judge bishops accused of covering up child abuse
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Pope Francis has approved an unprecedented Vatican department to judge bishops accused of covering up or not preventing sexual abuse of children, meeting a key demand by victims’ groups. Pope Francis has created a new Vatican tribunal section to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect children from sexually abusive priests, the biggest step the Holy See has taken yet to hold bishops accountable.
A statement said the department would come under the auspices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal arm, “to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors”. For years, the Vatican has been criticised by victims, advocacy groups and others for having failed to ever punish or forcibly remove a bishop who covered up for clergy who raped or molested children. In April, Francis accepted the resignation of a US bishop who had been convicted of failing to report a suspected child abuser, but that wasn’t a forced removal.
Victims groups have for years been urging the Vatican to establish clear procedures to make bishops more accountable for abuse in their dioceses, even if they were not directly responsible for it. The Vatican said on Wednesday that Francis had approved proposals made by his sexual abuse advisory board. They create a mechanism by which the Vatican can receive and examine complaints of abuse of office by bishops and adjudicate them.
Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi told reporters the bishops could also be judged if they had failed to take measures to prevent sexual abuse of minors. A special new judicial section will be created inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors”, a Vatican statement said.
The complaints against the bishops would be initially investigated by one of three Vatican departments, depending on whose jurisdiction the bishops fall under, before being judged by the doctrinal department. The Congregation currently reviews all cases of priests who abuse minors.
The Vatican said the pope had approved proposals made to him by a commission advising him on how to eliminate sexual abuse of children. The Vatican said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the head of Francis’ sex abuse advisory commission, presented the proposals to Francis’ cardinal advisers, who have been meeting this week. The panel approved the measures, as did Francis, who authorised funding for full-time personnel to staff the new office, the Vatican said.
Part of the task of the commission, which is made up of 17 clerics and lay people from around the world, is to help dioceses put in place “best practices” to prevent abuse and work with victims in a process of healing. Eight members are women. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said this means there is now a specific process by which the Vatican can deal with bishops who are negligent in handling cases of abuse in their territories.
The worldwide scandal, which first became prominent in Boston in 2002, has seen known abusers shunted from parish to parish instead of being defrocked and handed over to authorities. Canon law already does provide sanctions for bishops who are negligent in their duties, but the Vatican has never been known to have meted out punishment for a bishop who covered up for an abuser.
No bishop has ever been forcibly removed for covering up for guilty clergy, although in April, Francis accepted the resignation of a US bishop who had been convicted of failing to report a suspected child abuser.
Last February, Francis ordered bishops the world over to cooperate as a matter of priority with the commission to root out “the scourge” of the sexual abuse even if it unearths new scandals.