Pope Francis toughened measures against pedophilia in the Church

Pope Francis published on Saturday the update of an apostolic letter in the form of a pontifical decree that aims to toughen punishments against abuses of authority and cases of pedophilia in the Church, and establishes the creation of offices within dioceses to fight against these crimes. Reports of pedophilia involving religious leaders affected the Roman Church considerably, increasing disbelief about the functioning of the institution and alienating much of society from religious ideas. To fight against the problems installed within the Church, Francis updated on Saturday a law enacted in 2019.Called “Vos estis lux mundi”, or “You are the light of the world” in Spanish, the regulation established a series of norms that seek to cut fully with the impunity of the Church and describe “how to behave” in the face of alleged cases of abuse of authority. From this new update, the rules will be applied as “universal law”. Thus, the Supreme Pontiff ordered the creation of offices within the dioceses in order to fight against the cases mentioned above, and also established penalties for lay faithful who commit similar crimes. In 2019, “Vos estis lux mundi” was the main reason for the historic summit in which the theme was first addressed in the internal environment of the Church, convoking the victims and taking into account their opinions. Many other modifications have been introduced to harmonize the text of the procedures against abuse with the other normative reforms introduced from 2019 until today,” said Vatican News, the official Vatican website.Within this update, one of the main novelties is the mention of “vulnerable adults” regarding cases of abuse of authority and the extension of punishments to the lay faithful. affecting not only religious leaders. In the text made official this Saturday, the emphasis also focuses on the responsibility of investigating the case by the bishop in charge of the corresponding institution, and also refers to the protection of both the privacy of the alleged victim and the complainants. In a dialogue with Vatican News, the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, a recognized reference in the fight against abuse in the Church, pointed out the application of the law so that it does not become obtuse. “The Pope often repeats this phrase: ‘when one of us suffers, we all suffer.’ If there is this attitude of solidarity, if there is the thirst for justice of which Jesus speaks, but also the will to do good, then the law becomes a living instrument. Otherwise, like all laws, it could remain a dead letter,” he warned.

Original source in Spanish