AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times
November 12, 2012
Its treatment of sexual abuse allegations has been negligent, Matt Stevens writes
The Catholic Church’s system of canon law applies to its clergy in Australia and internationally.
Because it lacks the binding force found in most countries’ legal systems, it sits alongside the law of those countries, with which it occasionally conflicts.
Irrespective of the application of Australian criminal law, the Catholic church’s negligent treatment of allegations of sexual abuse by members of its clergy represents a clear breach of its own legal code.
Early legal documents of the Catholic church started to be codified around 1200AD, through to significant revisions published by Pope Benedict XV in 1917, arising from the First Vatican Council of 1869-70. These were further overhauled following the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council called by Pope John XXIII.
This resulted in the 1983 Code of Canon Law published by Pope John Paul II. Of the 1983 Code’s 1752 canons (laws), Canon 915 is pertinent to Catholic Church’s systemic obfuscation of investigations into sexual abuse among its ranks, including those alleged on Thursday on ABC TV’s Lateline program by senior NSW police detective Peter Fox.
Canon 915 reads: ”Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.