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Pope lifts 'pontifical secret' rule over sex abuse Pope lifts 'pontifical secret' rule in sex abuse cases
(about 1 hour later)
Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of the sexual abuse of minors, by abolishing the rule of "pontifical secrecy" that covers them. The Pope has declared that the rule of "pontifical secrecy" no longer applies to the sexual abuse of minors, in a bid to improve transparency in such cases.
New papal documents lift the obligation of silence on those who report abuse or say they have been victims. The Church previously shrouded sexual abuse cases in secrecy, in what it said was an effort to protect the privacy of victims and reputations of the accused.
But new papal documents on Tuesday lifted restrictions on those who report abuse or say they have been victims.
Church leaders called for the rule's abolition at a February Vatican summit.Church leaders called for the rule's abolition at a February Vatican summit.
Information in abuse cases should still be treated with "security, integrity and confidentiality", the Pope said. They said the lifting of the rule in such cases would improve transparency and the ability of the police and other civil legal authorities to request information from the Church.
He instructed Vatican officials to comply with civil laws and assist civil judicial authorities in investigating such cases. Information in abuse cases should still be treated with "security, integrity and confidentiality", the Pope said in his announcement. He instructed Vatican officials to comply with civil laws and assist civil judicial authorities in investigating such cases.
The Pope has also changed the Vatican's definition of child pornography, increasing the age of the subject from 14 or under to 18 or under. The Pope also changed the Vatican's definition of child pornography, increasing the age of the subject from 14 or under to 18 or under.
Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna called the move an "epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments", telling Vatican news that "the question of transparency now is being implemented at the highest level". Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta and the Vatican's most experienced sex abuse investigator, called the move an "epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments", telling Vatican news that "the question of transparency now is being implemented at the highest level".
The Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse by priests and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy around the world. The Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse by priests and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy around the world. Pope Francis has faced serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to the crisis, which has engulfed the Church in recent years.
Pope Francis has been under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to the crisis which has engulfed the Church over recent years. Pontifical secrecy was designed to protect sensitive information such as communications between the Vatican and papal embassies - in a similar fashion to the secrecy applied to diplomatic cables. But it was also applied over the years to judicial cases, to protect the privacy of victims and the identities of those accused.
Pontifical secrecy is a rule of confidentiality which protects sensitive information regarding the governance of the Church, similar to the "classified" or "confidential" status used in companies or civil governments, the Catholic news agency says. Critics said pontifical secrecy had been abused by some Church officials to avoid co-operation with the police in abuse cases.
In the new instruction, Pope Francis said the pontifical secret would also no longer bind those working in offices of the Roman Curia to confidentiality on other offences if committed in conjunction with child abuse or child pornography. "Certain jurisdictions would have easily quoted the pontifical secret ... to say that they could not, and that they were not, authorised to share information with either state authorities or the victims," Archbishop Scicluna said. "Now that impediment, we might call it that way, has been lifted, and the pontifical secret is no more an excuse."
Witnesses, alleged victims, and the person who files the report are also not bound to obligations of silence, the agency says. Under the new instruction, the pontifical secret no longer binds those working in offices of the Roman Curia to confidentiality on other offences if committed in conjunction with child abuse or child pornography. Witnesses, alleged victims, and the person who filed the report are also be unbound from obligations of silence.
Pope Benedict XVI had decreed in 2001 that these cases must be dealt with under "pontifical secret", the highest form of secrecy in the Church, the Associated Press news agency reports. On his 83rd birthday, Pope Francis has responded to a longstanding complaint from survivors by announcing that any testimony gathered by the Church in relation to cases of sexual violence, the abuse of minors and child pornography will now be made available to state authorities.
The Vatican had long insisted that such confidentiality was necessary to protect the privacy of the victim, the reputation of the accused and the integrity of the canonical process, it adds. In the past, the Church has been accused of using secrecy laws as a justification for not reporting cases of abuse. The consequence of breaching the pontifical secret was excommunication from the Church, so there was little incentive to be open to state authorities. That prohibition has now been abolished.
On his 83rd birthday, Pope Francis has responded to a long-standing complaint from survivors by announcing that any testimony gathered by the Church in relation to cases of sexual violence, the abuse of minors and child pornography will now be made available to state authorities.
In the past, the Church has been accused of using secrecy laws as a justification for not reporting cases of abuse. The consequence of breaching the pontifical secret was excommunication from the Church, so there was little incentive to be open to state authorities. That prohibition has now been abolished.
It is the latest attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to address the scourge of clerical abuse that has manifested itself across continents and in a range of religious institutions.It is the latest attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to address the scourge of clerical abuse that has manifested itself across continents and in a range of religious institutions.
The Pope's troubleshooter on sexual abuse, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, has added to Tuesday's announcement saying that if it receives a specific request from a state authority, then the Church will now co-operate.