The Vatican has published the Statutes for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, another important step in the wide-ranging effort by Pope Francis to ensure protection for children and minors in church institutions worldwide. The new statutes give this papal body a formal juridical structure and authority to carry out the pope’s mandate to protect children from sexual abuse. Among other stipulations, they state that the commission is “an autonomous institution attached to the Holy See” and “an advisory body at the service of the Holy Father.” That is of crucial importance for the commission’s independence and effectiveness. It means that the commission does not report to the Roman Curia, nor does it deal with individual cases of abuse. Significantly, the first article gives the commission power to “require an account of the effectiveness of the work” carried out by those other competent bodies in the church.
Protecting Children
Show Comments ()
1
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
l mulligan
9 years 11 months ago
What will be most telling in the near term is whether & at what level the Vatican will provide funding to make this body effective. We will have to wait for that, & I wonder how long?
The latest from america
Far from the Sistine Chapel where cloistered cardinals will cast votes, people are placing bets on who will be chosen as the next pope.
In this interview with Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal Müller speaks about his personal relationship with the pope, his criticisms of some of Francis’ statements and what he’s looking for in the next pope.
Few, if any, Latin Americans show up on the speculative lists of who might be elected as the supreme pontiff, or “papabile.” But that doesn’t mean the cardinals will not once again look to the New World.
Casa Santa Marta is abuzz with workers, engineers, and Vatican officials transforming the guesthouse that was the residence of Pope Francis into a secure, secluded place of lodging that would put Fort Knox to shame.