BishopAccountability.org
	Vatican Does Damage Control By Greg Burke Fox News April 12, 2010 http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/12/vatican-does-damage-control/?test=latestnews The Vatican posted a guide to Church sex abuse norms on its website Monday, with the intention of making them easy to understand for people who are not specialists. The guide is based on a 2001 Vatican overhaul of sex abuse policies, and the 1983 Code of Canon Law (Church Law). It’s still not perfectly simple, but the guide does make some straightforward and important statements, including one that “Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.” In other words, crimes have to be reported. Bishops have often been accused of covering up sex abuse crimes, or asking victims to remain silent to avoid scandal. The guide also points out that the local church should “investigate every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.” Bishops have the authority to suspend priests, and are encouraged to exercise that authority to whatever extent necessary “to assure that children do not come to harm.” The short guide to how the process works still has a bit of Vaticanspeak in it (“pro bono Ecclesiae,” for example), but at least it’s in English. Victims groups were not impressed. “Bishops answer to virtually no one and can easily ignore policies,” said Barbara Blaine, President of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “We must focus on behavior, not policies, and on deeds, not words.”
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