In light of Pennsylvania Catholic abuse and other scandals around the world, the Pope has instituted new reporting rules.

On May 9, Pope Francis put a new global church law into effect that will require all members of religious orders (including priests) to report any suspected sexual abuse of a minor to a superior. The law will also require members to report to superiors if they believe sexual abuse was covered up.

“The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,” the Pope’s statement reads.

“In order that these phenomena, in all their forms, never happen again, a continuous and profound conversion of hearts is needed, attested by concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church, so that personal sanctity and moral commitment can contribute to promoting the full credibility of the Gospel message and the effectiveness of the Church’s mission.”

Although this new global law may help crack down on Catholic Church sexual abuse across the world, some individuals have criticized the policy. They argue that the law should have a global mandate for reporting any crimes to the local civil authorities. However, the law does require members to follow their local laws and a global reporting mandate may be missing due to the vast differences in sexual abuse law around the world.

In some districts, such as the Diocese of Pittsburgh, local law and church policy already require clergy, teachers, and other individuals in the church who work with children to report abuse. Although Pennsylvania Catholic abuse measures are being rolled out as a result of the recent scandals in the state, the Pope’s document is reportedly a welcome addition to existing policies.

“It also tends to affirm what we’ve begun, what we’re trying to do,” Ronald Lengwin, a Pittsburgh Diocese spokesperson, told the Post-Gazette.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, is reportedly welcoming the document as well. He takes it as a sign that the Vatican is taking sexual abuse seriously.

“I’m encouraged to see that the pope, that the Vatican recognizes the serious nature of abuse and the cover-up,” Shapiro told the Post-Gazette. “The pope has consistently validated the work of the Pennsylvania grand jurors.”

However, Shapiro repeats some of the concerns brought up by victim advocates. “The problem I have with this policy is that law enforcement needs to be immediately notified,” he said. Shapiro argues that failing to inform law enforcement right away helps to create “a bureaucracy that further keeps this information enclosed within the church.”

Shapiro’s office released a shocking Pennsylvania Catholic abuse grand jury report in August 2018. The report showed that, across six diocese and 70 years, there had been more than 300 priests accused of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. This number included over 90 priests from the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

With changes being made on a global and local scale, there is hope that sexual abuse within the Catholic Church can be tackled head on and eliminated.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.