To hold church accountable for sex abuse cases, Pope expands sex abuse law

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Pope Francis, the world catholic leader, on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases.

Pope expanded the law to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirmed that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when they are unable to freely consent.

With the update, Francis made permanent temporary provisions that were passed in 2019 in a moment of crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy.

The law was praised at the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit bishops and religious superiors, even though it amounted to bishops policing fellow bishops without any requirement that civil law enforcement be informed.

But implementation has been uneven, and abuse survivors have criticized the Vatican for a continued lack of transparency about the cases. Their advocates said a wholesale overhaul was necessary, not just Saturday’s minor modifications.