SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer
The Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse crimes has said that the Church needs to do more to develop the process for punishing bishops who fail in their duty to protect children.
Fr Robert W Oliver, (above) promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the Church does have ‘procedures to deal with bishops who are negligent in supervision. It is a crime.’ However, he said more work needs to be done on the procedures.
“We need to move forward on this,” the American priest said. “The law itself is there, the process itself needs to be developed. It is clear that it is a crime, but how we deal with this crime needs to be developed.”
In an interview with an Irish newspaper while in Dublin to meet safeguarding representatives from dioceses and religious orders, Fr Oliver also said that he believed Pope Francis will work quickly on recommendations from the new Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
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