IOWA
Iowa State Daily
By Michael Heckle
michael.heckle@iowastatedaily.com
Recent comments by high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church have painted a terrifying picture of the attitudes and policies the church holds toward the most atrocious actions committed by its own clergy: the sexual abuse of children. While allegations of sexual assaults have plagued the church since the 1970s, that Vatican has done little to discipline those responsible.
In a recent report published by the Catholic news site Cruxnow.com, new Catholic bishops are being told they are neither legally nor morally obligated to report sexual abuse by clergy to the proper authorities.
A new church training document for newly ordained bishops created by French Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a consultant for the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, states, “According to the state of civil laws of each country where reporting is obligatory, it is not necessarily the duty of the bishop to report suspects to authorities, the police or state prosecutors in the moment when they are made aware of crimes or sinful deeds.”
Rather, Anatrella makes it a responsibility of victims and families of victims to report any allegations of sexual abuse.
While sources in the Vatican say that these comments are purely Anatrella’s personal opinion, the church has not released any documentation criticizing or clarifying his statements.
Complicating the situation further are fears that reports of sexual abuse in countries with more hostile attitudes toward the church will make a fair trial nearly impossible, especially in the case of false accusations.
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