The new accountability system, which the Vatican said was developed by the pontifical commission, contains a set of five points agreed upon by the pope.
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Last year, the UN strongly criticized the Vatican for failing to stamp out child abuse and for allowing cover-ups.
The complaints against the bishops would initially be investigated by one of three Vatican departments, depending on the jurisdiction under which the bishop’s fall, before being judged by the doctrinal tribunal. A prominent recent case was that of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, Mo., who was convicted by a local court in 2012 for failing to report a priest who had produced child pornography.
A new Judicial Section within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s disciplinary office, will “judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors”, a statement said.
Secondly, the Pope went on, there are those who forget they have been anointed and given the guarantee of the Spirit, so they are always searching for some “novelty” in their Christian identity.
This new office will now make judgments on bishops accused of mishandling such cases. No individuals were named. The group approved the measure, as did Francis, who also provided funding to staff the tribunal. “Priests abuse children and so do bishops – bishops who offend are inevitably enablers, and the commission’s plan must confront that sad fact”. The Holy See recently signed a tax information-sharing agreement with Italy, though that is based upon request whereas the FATCA reporting is automatic and annual, U.S. officials said. “This is our identity”, the Pope said, and we must ask the Lord for the gift of grace to bear witness to this truth. They are like salt that loses its flavor, he said, yet throughout the history of Salvation, God has patiently led United States from ambiguity to the concrete certainties of the Incarnation and of our Redemption through the death of his Son.
VICTIMS. Abuse victims Jim Robertson (R) and Rita Milla (L) are joined by supporters holding quilts bearing the portraits of abused children while gathered outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, on February 1, 2013, one day after the release of personnel files of priests accused of sexual misconduct.
Canon law already does provide sanctions for bishops who are negligent in their duties, but the Vatican was never known to have meted out punishment for a bishop who covered up for an abuser.
But popes have been loath to depose bishops over shielding molesters, and the process for deposing a bishop was so murky that it was often easier for the Vatican to shuttle a bishop to a ceremonial post or wait for him to retire.
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