ROME — Pope Francis enacted a new global Catholic Church law Thursday that requires all priests and members of religious orders to report to their superiors if they suspect one of their colleagues has committed sexual abuse of a minor — or if it was covered up.
The policy drew criticism because it doesn’t have a global mandate to report the crimes to the civil authorities, but it does say to follow local law.
The Pope’s document sets standards for reporting and processing allegations of abuse and cover up rather than establishing any new crimes or punishments.
It does break new ground in setting procedures for investigating bishops for abuse or cover up, although it doesn’t establish penalties.
It says allegations should go up the chain of command — for example, those against bishops should be reported to their archbishops, those against archbishops directly to the Vatican.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo’s Bishop Daniel Thomas welcomed and endorsed the policy on Thursday.
“It is heartening that what has already been in place in the United States, since 2002, in the Essential Norms and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and in the Diocese of Toledo through our longstanding and recently updated Diocesan Policy for the Protection of Minors and Young People, is now being enhanced and universally required of all members of the Church,” Bishop Thomas said.
“I welcome and endorse this critical step for the Church throughout the world in safeguarding children, caring for persons who have been harmed, ensuring the dignity of the priesthood and episcopate, and restoring the trust of the faithful,” he continued.
“We will continue, as has been our policy, to insist that any abuse of a minor be reported first to law enforcement. We recognize and affirm that, with this new universal policy, regardless of position or office in the Church, all are held accountable for their actions.”
One of the biggest criticisms of the U.S. bishops’ 2002 charter on youth protection was that it punished guilty priests but not the bishops who covered up their offenses.
The Pope’s action marks the latest reverberation of a Pennsylvania grand jury report in August concerning more than 300 “predator priests” credibly accused of sexual abuse in the last seven decades across six dioceses.
The grand jury triggered similar investigations by multiple state and federal prosecutors.
Combined with revelations of serial misconduct by a former cardinal, the now-defrocked Theodore McCarrick of Washington, the report reignited the longstanding abuse scandal and led to a February summit on the subject convened by Pope Francis.
“I’m encouraged to see that the Pope, that the Vatican recognizes the serious nature of abuse and the cover-up,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office oversaw the report. “The Pope has consistently validated the work of the Pennsylvania grand jurors.”
But “the problem I have with this policy is that law enforcement needs to be immediately notified,” he said. The policy creates “a bureaucracy that further keeps this information enclosed within the church.”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said the “lack of policies or procedures has never been the main problem in the clergy sex abuse scandal.”
Rather, it cited the “lack of accountability” for those in the hierarchy.
Pope Francis titled his document “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” — Latin for Jesus’ phrase, “You are the light of the world.”
He said the only way for the church to live up to that ideal is to make sure the abuse crisis will “never happen again.”
“The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological, and spiritual damage to the victims, and harm the community of the faithful,” the Pope wrote. “... A continuous and profound conversion of hearts is needed, attested by concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church.”
The document calls for whistleblower protections for those who report abuse as well as a presumption of innocence for the accused while an investigation is pending.
A uniform global requirement to report any abuse to civil authorities would be difficult, the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Catholic priest and senior analyst for Religion News Service, wrote in a Thursday column.
“Reporting should be required in the United States and other countries with functioning and fair criminal justice systems where a person is presumed innocent until proved guilty,” he wrote. “But in many countries, police and courts are corrupt, incompetent or abusive. In some countries, a priest would be presumed guilty if his bishop reported him.”
The Block News Alliance consists of The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Peter Smith is religion editor at the Post-Gazette.
First Published May 10, 2019, 3:50 a.m.
