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	Vatican Doubles Statute of Limitations on Sex Abuse By Flavia Krause-Jackson Washington Post July 15, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071502510.html The Vatican doubled the statute of limitations on prosecuting priests for sexual abuse to 20 years in a revision of its canon-law rules as allegations of misconduct by clergy spread around the globe. The new rules amended Vatican regulations dating to 2001 initially prepared when Pope Benedict XVI headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal office, for then Pope John Paul II. The changes were released today in a statement on the Vatican's website. "It's disturbing that the new rules merely will extend the statutes of limitations rather than eliminate them altogether," said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-head of BishopAccountability.org, which documents sex abuse by priests. "The policy revisions announced by the Vatican are tiny improvements." Benedict has struggled to contain damage to the Church's reputation over its handling of allegations of sexual abuse by priests in the U.S., Ireland, Germany and, most recently, Belgium. The 83-year-old pontiff last month promised to do "everything possible" to shield children from pedophile clerics. Victim groups say church leaders have tried to cover up crimes and done too little to prevent abuse. The Vatican in April made public for the first time its guidelines for dealing with clerics accused of molesting minors. Besides reinforcing the message that suspected crimes should be reported to the police, Catholic bishops were also called upon to "investigate every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric," the rules say. "If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF" and bishops are "encouraged" to restrict the activities of accused priests to protect alleged victims during any investigation, the April guidelines said. The Vatican reiterated today that Catholic bishops must report alleged abuse to the police and investigate every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric. Today's changes include a new rule to consider a minor any "developmentally disabled" individual even if over the age of 18. Additionally, the distribution of child pornography now constitutes a crime in canon law and the ordination of women into the priesthood is a "crime against faith," the Vatican said. Between 2001 and 2009, there were 3,000 accusations of sexual wrongdoing by priests, of which 60 percent were reported to be same-sex attraction while 30 percent were heterosexual, the Vatican has said. The remaining 10 percent were serious claims of abuse of minors. The U.S. accounts for 80 percent of the priests currently facing trial.
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