Victim advocacy group disappointed by Catholic Church changes on sex abuse

COLUMBUS (OH)
Channel 10 News

May 9, 2019

By Glenn McEntyre

Carol Zamonski represents the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

When she learned the Pope had issued new rules governing reporting of sex abuse, her expectations were low. After reading the church’s new guidelines, so is her assessment.

“This is not satisfactory. It’s not going to solve the problem. It doesn’t indicate to me that there’s a will to actually solve the problem. This is just a great PR move,” Zamonski said.

Among the changes:

Each diocese is to establish systems for the public to confidentially report abuse and cover-up within a year.
All clerics and church officials are obligated to report abuse and cover-up, and there can be no retaliation against whistle-blowers.
Archbishops or clerics must immediately inform the Vatican of an accusation, and the Vatican has 30 days to respond.
But the rules do not require law enforcement to be involved.

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