Vatican’s revised rules on sexual abuse of children

(July 16, 2010) The Vatican on Thursday made sweeping revisions to its laws on sexual abuse, doubling a statute of limitations for disciplinary action against priests and extending the use of fast-track procedures to laicize them. The Vatican also codified the "attempted ordination of a woman" to the priesthood as one of the most serious crimes against Church law. The changes, the first in nine years, affect Church procedures for laicizing abusive priests. They make some legal procedures which were so far allowed under an ad hoc basis, the global norms to confront the crisis.
"This gives a signal that we are very, very serious in our commitment to promote safe environments and to offer an adequate response to abuse," Msgr. Charles Scicluna, an official of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith told a news conference at Thursday’s release of the revised rules. Under the revisions, the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases was increased to 20 years after the victim's 18^th birthday from 10 years under the old rules, meaning victims will be able to file charges until they are 38 years old. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the statute of limitations could be extended even further in some cases. The changes are an update to Pope John Paul II’s Motu Proprio letter of 2001. While the changes involve Canon law, Fr. Lombardi said existing Vatican guidance to bishops that they should report sexual abusers to civil authorities remained in effect. In other changes, sexual abuse by a priest of a mentally handicapped adult will be treated as if the handicapped person were a minor and could lead to dismissal from the priesthood. The revisions also allow bishops to defrock priests where evidence of sexual abuse is clear without canonical trials, which can be lengthy and costly. The Church will be able to defrock priests in such cases by decree. They also specify that priests who acquire, possess or distribute child pornography will be considered to have committed a serious offence subject to the same disciplinary action as abusers. The updated rules also codified as a "grave crime" against Church law "the attempted ordination of a woman" to conform with a decree issued in 2007 to deal with a growing movement in favour of a female priesthood. The revised norms maintain the imposition of "pontifical secret" on the church's judicial handling of priestly sex abuse and other grave crimes, which means they are dealt with in strict confidentiality. Father Lombardi said the provision on the secrecy of trials was designed "to protect the dignity of everyone involved."