BishopAccountability.org
	Critics Dismiss Vatican Guidlines on Sex Abuse by Clergy Monsters and Critics May 16, 2011 http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1639478.php/Critics-dismiss-Vatican-guidlines-on-sex-abuse-by-clergy Vatican City - New Vatican guidelines on dealing with sexual abuse of children by priests met with scepticism from victims' groups after they were made public on Monday. Barbara Dorris, a spokeswoman for the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (SNAP), said 'the Vatican abuse guidelines will change little' because they were not binding. 'Bishops ignore and conceal child sex crimes because they can,' a SNAP statement said. Dorris was responding to the publication of a Vatican letter to bishops worldwide on how to deal with sexual abuse by clergy. The Vatican circular from the Catholic Church's top body on moral disciplinary matters, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), said victims' needs had to be prioritized and perpetrators reported to the civil authorities. By May 2012, Conferences of Bishops from each country must compile a set of guidelines on how to implement norms adopted by the Vatican last July, the letter said. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said bishops in the US, Germany and Ireland - three countries where many of the abuse allegations surfaced - as well as in Australia, Canada and the Philippines had already drafted guidelines. In Germany these head been made public, he said. In some countries including Italy, the guidelines had yet to be drawn up, Lombardi said. 'Each reality is different, culturally and from the point of view of different countries' law.' Lombardi said the letter stressed a bishop 'cannot abdicate his responsibility' for ensuring child safety and handling abuse cases. In 2010 the Vatican introduced stricter norms on sexual abuses in the wake of widespread revelations of child abuse by Catholic clergy. The norms set ou accelerated defrocking of predator priests, opened up participation in church tribunals on sex abuse cases to non-priests, extended the statute of limitations for sex abuse cases from 10 to 20 years, and branded the possession of child pornography a 'grave crime.' However, groups including SNAP accused top Catholic clergy of deceiving or stonewalling law enforcement officials, and allowing known predator priests to continue operating. The CDF said it was stressing the need for developing prevention programmes 'to create truly safe environments for children.' Bishops are instructed to 'take due account of the civil laws of the country, including any obligation to notify the civil authorities,' regarding the alleged crimes and their perpetrators. Offenders should not be allowed to return to public ministry. The CDF's circular letter comes as the sex abuse scandal continues to shake the Catholic Church. On Sunday Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco - the archbishop of Genoa who also heads Italy's Bishops Conference - informed parishioners Genoa that their longtime pastor had been jailed for paedophilia and giving drugs to a minor. Father Riccardo Seppia was arrested Friday night on charges of abusing a 16-year-old boy and giving him cocaine. Earlier this month Canadian bishop Raymond Lahey admitted in court to possession of child pornography, while in April disgraced Belgian Bishop Roger Vangheluwe indicated he had abused two child nephews, but insisted he did not consider himself a paedophile. The Vatican has indicated that both men, who have resigned as bishops, may yet face serious sanctions from the church.
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