Vatican

The investigation will determine the credibility of an accusation of abuse allegedly committed “more than 50 years ago” by Archbishop Pinera who, at 103, is the oldest living bishop in the world.

The revised statutes are meant to ensure that the Vatican Bank conducts its business solely for “the works of religion and of charity.”

For decades, abusers held the power in a culture of impunity led by an archbishop who was among those accused. Anthony Sablan Apuron was convicted in a secret Vatican trial and suspended in 2016, after which restrictions he supported on the reporting of abuse were eased.

German Catholics are embarking on what is being called a “synodal journey,” but it promises to be a potentially rocky one, focusing on subjects the church usually avoids.

But taken in context, the correspondence penned by disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to the young men he is accused of sexually abusing or harassing is a window into the way a predator grooms his prey.

Vatican City State will have its own reporting system in place before the end of the year for flagging suspected cases of the abuse of minors and vulnerable people and instances of cover-up or negligence in handling such cases, the Vatican said.