VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has taken the biggest step yet to crack down on bishops who cover up for priests who rape and molest children, creating a new tribunal section inside the Vatican to hear cases of bishops accused of failing to protect their flock.
The initiative has significant legal and theological implications, because bishops have long been considered masters of their dioceses and largely unaccountable when they bungle their job, with the Vatican stepping in only in cases of gross negligence.
That reluctance to intervene has prompted years of criticism from abuse victims, advocacy groups and others that the Vatican had failed to punish or forcibly remove bishops who moved predator priests around from parish to parish, where they could rape again, rather than report them to police or remove them from ministry.
The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis had approved proposals made by his sexual abuse advisory board to address that lapse. The board includes two survivors of abuse and experts in child protection policies. Their proposals call for a new mechanism by which the Vatican can now receive and examine complaints of “abuse of office” by bishops, and bring them to trial in a Vatican tribunal.
A special new judicial section, with permanent staff, will be created inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors,” a Vatican statement said.
Details must still be worked out, including possible punishments and the statute of limitations to determine whether old cases of negligence by bishops dating back 20 or 30 years can be heard now.
The congregation currently reviews all cases of priests who have abused minors and the statute of limitations is 20 years, although the congregation can waive that limit.
The main U.S. victims group SNAP was more cautious, noting that there are bishops in office who have delayed reporting abuse and yet no punishment has ever been meted out.
“In the face of this widespread denial, timidity and inaction, let’s be prudent, stay vigilant and withhold judgment until we see if and how this panel might act,” said SNAP’s David Clohessy.
The sex abuse scandal exploded decades ago in the U.S., Ireland, Australia and elsewhere in large part because bishops and heads of religious orders moved pedophile priests around or sent them off for therapy, rather than report the crimes to police and conduct church trials as canon law requires. Their aim was to prevent scandal and hold onto their priests at almost any cost.
