He Pope Francisco published this Saturday the update of a apostolic letter in the form of a pontifical decree that aims to toughen the punishments against abuses of authority and cases of pedophilia in the Church, and establishes the creation of offices within the dioceses to fight against these crimes.
The complaints about cases of pedophilia referring to religious leaders affected the Roman Church considerably, increasing disbelief about the operation of the institution and alienating a large part of society from religious ideas. To fight against the problems installed within the Church, Francis updated this Saturday a law promulgated in 2019.
Called “Vos estis lux mundi”, or “You are the light of the world” in Spanish, the regulation established a series of norms that seek to cut squarely with the impunity of the Church and describe “how to behave” in alleged cases of abuse of authority. As of this new update, the rules will be applied as “universal law”.
In this way, the Supreme Pontiff ordered the creation of offices within the dioceses in order to fight against the cases mentioned above, and also established penalties for the lay faithful who commit similar crimes.
In 2019, “You are lux mundi” was the main reason for the historic summit in which the issue was raised for the first time in the internal environment of the Church, summoning the victims and taking into account their opinions.
“Many other modifications have been introduced to harmonize the text of the procedures against abuses with the other regulatory reforms introduced from 2019 to today,” said Vatican News, the official website of the Vatican.
Within this update, one of the main novelties is the mention of “vulnerable adults” regarding cases of abuse of authority and the extension of punishments to lay faithful, affecting not only religious leaders.
In the text made official this Saturday, the emphasis is also focused on the responsibility of the bishop in charge of the corresponding institution to investigate the case, and also refers to the protection of both the privacy of the alleged victim and the complainants.
In dialogue with Vatican News, the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, a recognized leader in the fight against abuses in the Church, pointed out that the law should not be obtuse. “The Pope often repeats this phrase: ‘when one of us suffers, we all suffer’. If there is this attitude of solidarity, if there is the thirst for justice of which Jesus speaks, but also the will to do good, then the law becomes a living instrument. Otherwise, like all laws, could remain a dead letter“, he warned.
