CDF issues handbook of procedures on abuse cases – Response by Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director, BishopAccountability.org (781-439-5208) The CDF has published its long-awaited vademecum, or handbook, on handling abuse cases, and news coverage is focusing on the document’s language about civil reporting. Point #17 of the handbook says that church officials "should" report to civil authorities if they think the victim or minors might be in danger. While this language is incrementally stronger than the Vatican's usual rhetoric, the difference doesn't matter.This is merely a manual – it carries no weight under church law. What matters is the prevailing canonical norm about civil reporting in Vos Estis Lux Mundi, the reporting law issued by the Pope last year. That norm, Article 19, says that VELM’s new reporting procedures should be applied "without prejudice" to state law. The provision in its entirety reads: “These norms apply without prejudice to the rights and obligations established in each place by state laws, particularly those concerning any reporting obligations to the competent civil authorities.” That's not a recommendation to report. It's a minimal nod to civil obligations, and its implications are devastating: as Pope Francis knows, clergy are exempted from reporting child sexual abuse in most countries.This means that under current canon law, most of the world’s bishops still are allowed not to tell civil authorities that a priest is raping a child. If Pope Francis is serious about waging an "all-out battle" against child sexual abuse, he should order every church official to report allegations to civil authorities. The Vatican often observes that in certain countries, reporting a sex crime could put the accuser or accused at risk. That's no reason not to mandate civil reporting in the scores of countries where it is safe to do so. The Vatican could specify the few unsafe countries, and exempt bishops who work there from the civil reporting obligation. News reports today are also highlighting Point #50, which says that Ordinaries must cooperate with civil court orders to surrender documents. Hierarchs should not obstruct justice, in other words. This provision too is minimal, and falls far short of what the Vatican should be ordering, which is the proactive release of abuse files to civil authorities. Point #50 is simply prudent self-protection on the part of the Holy See. It knows that the church is facing a new era of accountability worldwide. Church offices are being raided by police, and from Chile to Colombia to the United States to Poland, civil authorities are accusing bishops of cover-up. Increasingly, civil courts are demanding that church authorities turn over information about sexual assaults of children. That the Vatican is now advising non-obstruction is hardly praiseworthy. Indeed, the handbook has several reminders of the enduring regressiveness of canon law, which with its strong bias toward accused clergy undermines the promise of Pope Francis to end the scourge of abuse. Point #28 reminds us that an untold number of sexual assaults of children still are not processed due to terms of prescription (aka, statutes of limitation). Why hasn't the Pope removed all time bars against prosecuting sex crimes against children? Point #48 reminds us that concordats "must always and in any event be observed." As prosecutors in Argentina, Spain, and Colombia have discovered, the Holy See's concordats are often instruments of impunity. In some countries, they make it legal for church authorities to refuse to testify and to withhold abuse files even when faced with a court order. Point #84 reminds us that the standard of proof for accused clergy continues to be “moral certainty” – the equivalent of "beyond a reasonable doubt." This standard makes sense in the context of states that can send guilty citizens to prison. It is dangerous and senseless in the context of an institution deciding whether to retain a priest who sexually violated a minor. The responsible standard is probability or plausibility - not certainty. Point #110 reveals the remarkable fact that the accused is not required to take an oath to tell the truth. Why on earth not? Point #119 reminds us that under universal canon law, it's still permissible for a guilty priest to stay in ministry. Point #119 notes that when a priest is found guilty, the Ordinary may impose the penalty he “considers most suitable.” This is a depressing reminder that under Pope Francis, 'zero tolerance' remains a slogan, not a reality. With the exception of the United States and perhaps a few other countries, known child molesters in the Catholic church are still allowed under canon law to remain priests. Besides ordering civil reporting, what significant steps could the Church take? Pope Francis must make "zero tolerance" of child sex abuse the universal law of the church: Any cleric who has been found guilty of even a single act of sexual abuse, no matter when the act occurred, must be removed permanently from public ministry. To be effective, this norm must be tighter than the U.S. church’s norm, which permanently removes the cleric only if his guilt is admitted or is ‘established after an appropriate process in accord with canon law.’ Too many U.S. priests ‘cleared’ by church tribunals later are found to be guilty, in part because canon law is skewed towards the accused, with a short prescription period, a high standard of proof (moral certitude), and other victim-hostile features. The same zero tolerance must obtain for enablers. To end the cover-up, Pope Francis must remove not only the title and office, but the ability to minister publicly, of any bishop, religious superior, papal nuncio or Vatican official found to have enabled or concealed sexual offenses by clerics. About BishopAccountability.org Founded in 2003 and based near Boston, Massachusetts, USA, BishopAccountability.org is a large online archive of documents, reports, and news articles documenting the global abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. Each year, its website hosts more than 1.5 million unique visitors. An independent non-profit, it is not a victims' advocacy group and is not affiliated with any church, reform, or victims' organization. CONTACTS Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director, BishopAccountability.org, barrett.doyle@comcast.net, 781-439-5208 U.S. mobile Terence McKiernan, President and Co-Director, BishopAccountability.org, mckiernan1@comcast.net, 508-479-9304

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