The guidelines call for all dioceses to create easily accessible offices to receive abuse claims.
By Chico Harlan Chico Harlan Rome bureau chief covering southern Europe and sometimes parts beyond Email Bio Follow May 9 at 7:23 AM VATICAN CITY — Pledging that clerical sexual abuse should “never happen again,” the Vatican on Thursday unveiled a set of new rules designed to alter how the church deals with abuse accusations — particularly those made against bishops and other higher-ups.
The rules mark perhaps the most concrete attempt to date by Pope Francis to contend with the Catholic Church’s primary crisis. The question of how to handle claims against bishops has long confounded the church, because bishops are answerable only to the pope, and for decades they have been able to escape rigid oversight.
In an article in the Vatican’s newspaper, Andrea Tornielli, a senior Vatican media official, called the guidelines, “a further and incisive step in the prevention and fight against abuse, putting the emphasis on concrete actions.” Though the clerics aren’t explicitly required to report abuse allegations to police — a contentious issue within the church — the laws do state that church officials should comply with “any reporting obligations to the competent civil authorities.”
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