Pope Francis has issued a new law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns to report sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities. The unprecedented move by the pontiff, which will apply to more than 1 million members of the clergy, promises protection for whistle-blowers and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to handle claims confidentially.
Priests and nuns will now be required to inform church authorities whenever they learn or have “well-founded motives to believe” that a cleric or sister has engaged in child sex abuse, sexual misconduct with an adult, or possesses child pornography — or that a superior has covered up any of those crimes.
The rules also apply to historical cases meaning priests and nuns can retroactively report abuse. Courtesy: independent.co.uk
