Pope Francis is tightening the pace in the fight against child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. To this end, he abolished the "papal secret" in the event of abuse by priests, as the Vatican said. According to the Vatican media platform Vaticannews, the measure means that statements in church processes also go to civil authorities.
The "papal secret" is a strict confidentiality rule in the Catholic Church. The so-called Secretum pontificium makes it punishable to make certain legal transactions public. Francis had criticized the fact that this rule had been used to protect pedophiles, to silence victims and to prevent law enforcement officers from investigating crimes.
Abuses have triggered a crisis in the Catholic Church
The massive abuse of children had plunged the Catholic Church into one of its worst crises. Even Francis' predecessor Benedict XVI. announced total transparency, which many critics still don't believe to be enforced.
His successor Francis now published a total of two documents, so-called rescripts, in which he uses his authority to rewrite certain articles of canon law. Among other things, it regulates the age at which minors are considered victims of pornographic depictions. It is now one of the most serious crimes to spread or possess these pictures with children up to 18 years of age. So far, there was a limit of 14 years.
The Pope's decision is a consequence of the anti-abuse summit at the Vatican in February, to which Francis invited all the bishops in the world. The Archbishop of Malta and one of the closest papal advisers on abuse, Charles Scicluna, spoke of an "epochal" decision.