Pope Francis changed the rules for addressing sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday. He stated that victims may be of any age and expanding their scope to include lay Catholic leaders.
In 2019, the pope issued a significant decree requiring all members of religious orders to disclose any suspicions of abuse. He also wants to hold bishops fully accountable for any abuse they commit or cover up.
These safeguards were first imposed on a temporary basis. However, the Vatican stated on Saturday that, beginning on April 30, they would be made permanent. They would also be extended to include other characteristics to strengthen the fight against abuse inside the Church.
Pope Francis has taken a number of measures to make the Church authorities accountable for the abuse scandals that have rocked the Vatican over the last decade.
Some have attacked Pope Francis for being sluggish to defrock abusive prelates. Others have claimed that the results have been inconsistent.
Multiple accusations have been made against lay leaders accused of exploiting their positions to sexually abuse those in their care. The requirements now encompass leaders of Vatican-sanctioned organizations that are managed by regular people as opposed to only priests.
The updated set of laws now includes crimes done with a juvenile or someone with an imperfect use of reason. It also covers a vulnerable adult which previously only pertained to sexual actions conducted against “minors and vulnerable adults.”
Members required to report incidents
According to the Vatican, Church members are required to report incidences of sexual harassment.
BishopAccountability.org, a non-profit organization devoted to recording abuses inside the Roman Catholic Church, termed the change a “major disappointment. They argue that it falls short of what was required to successfully confront crimes within the church.
According to Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, bishops are still accountable for conducting inquiries into charges made against other bishops. She characterized the strategy as “self-policing disguised as responsibility.”
The amended regulations were published one month after the Roman Catholic Jesuits confirmed that claims of sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse against one of its prominent members were true.
Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, 69, is a notable Catholic artist who has been accused of sexual assault by more than 25 individuals, the majority of them are former nuns who met him during his tenure as spiritual director of a community of nuns in his native Slovenia some 30 years ago.
The allegations have shook the global system, of which the pope is a member, but Rupnik has not publicly commented on them.
