Any decision to remove the bishop must first be approved by the pope, who will be advised by a college of legal experts, the law says.
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A number of sex abuse scandels involving the Roman Catholic Church in recent years have included allegations priests have been transferred to different areas instead of being reported to police.
Although there are existing laws that address abuse cases, the new decree adds bishop negligence in abuse cases to the list of “grave causes” that can lead to dismissal.
In an apostolic letter published Saturday, the pope explained canon law already allows bishops to be removed “for serious reasons”.
Pope Francis has issued new guidelines that would remove bishops from office if they allow priests under their supervision to sexually abuse others-a move long sought by reformers who have criticized the Roman Catholic church for moving too cautiously to prevent further abuses.
The new procedures takes effect September 5.
Bishops “must undertake a particular diligence in protecting those who are the weakest among their flock”, Francis wrote, referring to minors and vulnerable adults.
The papal edict states that diocesan bishops and eparchs, whether permanent or temporary, can be subject to removal on account of negligence-either through “committed or omitted acts”-if such failure resulted in “physical, moral, spiritual, or patrimonial” harm to an individual or a community as a whole”.
After her meeting with Pope Francis, Her Highness witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Qatar National Library and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana to digitise and make publicly available a range of invaluable Arabic and Islamic manuscripts, which are held in the collection of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
A special panel of church lawyers – likely to be made up of cardinals and bishops – will then assist the Pope on the final decision over whether to sack a member of the hierarchy.
Pope Francis has pledged zero tolerance for anyone in the church who abuses children, and has likened such abuse to a “satanic Mass”. But he said he wanted to precisely state that negligence in handling abuse cases counted as one of those reasons.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the new law was insufficient in holding abusers accountable.
The pontiff tweeted on Saturday: “Let us hear the cry of the victims and those suffering, no family without a home, no child without a childhood”. A “process” doesn’t protect kids. “We doubt this process will be helpful”.
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Pope Francis in 2014 established a Vatican commission meant to establish best practices to root out abuse in parishes.
