VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
In a few days the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to publish the responses to bishops’ proposals for combating sex abuse in the clergy
Andrés Beltramo Álvarez
Vatican City
In recent weeks bishops from across the world sent the Holy See their guidelines for preventing and combating sex abuse against minors perpetrated by clerics. In the next few days the Vatican will publish a preliminary report containing the assessment of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This is a delicate task given the diversity in the various Episcopates’ opinions on such a distressing topic.
Most of the world’s Episcopates have already responded to the call from the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, William Levada, in a letter dated 3 May 2011. In the letter, the cardinal asked all Episcopal conferences to put together their own set of guidelines for combating the scourge of paedophilia in their respective areas. The deadline was set for the end of May 2012.
Levada asked that said documents establish clear and coordinated procedures for managing cases and dealing with the problem in a timely and efficient manner, through guidelines that are suitable for each local area. Guidelines which should take into account the civil law of each respective country.
These guidelines have been in force for years in some countries, particularly in countries such as the U.S., Ireland, Germany and Austria, where most of the abuse cases were recorded. Some Episcopates based their laws on the experiences of these countries.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.