UNITED KINGDOM
National Secular Society
Posted: Tue, 07 Jun 2016
Sex abuse victims doubt Pope’s decree on negligent bishops
A new decree issued by Pope Francis on 4 June under which bishops can be removed from office if found guilty of negligence involving grave abuse of minors or vulnerable adults has been greeted with cynicism by the National Secular Society and a victim support group.
The new decree does not equate to a criminal prosecution under secular law and the maximum sanction for bishops found guilty under this decree is removal from office, and even that is subject to Pontifical approval. Those disciplined under the new decree will not have a criminal record as a result and the decree does not apply to those of higher, or indeed lower, rank than bishops. Cardinals have been implicated in such facilitation but appear to be immune from sanction.
In a similar move last year, the Pope announced a Tribunal to discipline such bishops, but it appears never to have met. This decree, and the Tribunal that preceded it, may be a Church response to the growing willingness to prosecute senior clerics, especially in the US, on charges such as child endangerment. By announcing such disciplinary measures, the Church implies that criminal prosecutions are unnecessary and that those suspected of facilitating abuse will be subjected to due process by the Church.
Those states that have signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the Vatican, are subject to a five-yearly review. A review of the Vatican concluded in 2014 that “almost all those who concealed child sexual abuse [were allowed] to escape judicial proceedings in States where abuses were committed”. It recommended that the Church’s archives should be shared in order that “all those who concealed their crimes and knowingly placed offenders in contact with children” were held accountable.
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