 |
| Pope Francis in the Vatican |
Photo courtesy: AP via www.npr.org/
Pope Francis recently issued a new decree or edict, called Motu Proprio (meaning "on his own impulse" -- an action taken by the pope on his own initiative), which will go into effect on June 1, 2019, making it mandatory for the Vatican City State officials or staff and Vatican diplomats in different countries to immediately report to Vatican authorities any allegation of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults (who are "in an infirm state, or physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal freedom, that in fact, even occasionally, limits their capacity to intend or to want or in any way to resist the offense") by any one of their own. If anyone fails to report such an allegation will face monetary fines or jail time.
This decree, however, will not affect non-Vatican jurisdictions (that is, local Catholic dioceses, the orders of priests-Brothers-Sisters, or their institutions).
This is one concrete step taken after the February Vatican Summit of world Catholic bishops on the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.
For more on this subject, kindly read the following:
- Pope Francis issues child protection laws for Vatican City, Roman Curia (March 29, 2019)
- Pope Francis issues new legislation for protection of minors (March 29, 2019)
- Pope Francis issues decree for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults in the Vatican (March 29, 2019)
- Pope Issues New Edict Requiring Vatican Officials To Report Sex Abuse Allegations (March 29, 2019)
- Pope: new laws for the protection of minors (March 29, 2019)
- New Vatican law will make reporting of sex abuse mandatory (March 30, 2019)
- Vatican Guidelines for Protection of Minors [Full Text]
- State-of-the-art standards for the protection of minors [Editorial] (March 29, 2019)
- The Protection of Minors in the Church (Responsibility, Accountability, Transparency) [Website]
No comments:
Post a Comment