ROME (ITALY)
Boston Herald
December 17, 2019
By Marie Szanislo
Lawyer says Francis is giving law enforcement what it can already obtain in many jurisdictions
Pope Francis on Tuesday abolished the use of “pontifical secrecy” — the Vatican’s highest level of secrecy in clergy sexual abuse cases — a step that victims and their advocates say is long overdue and only one step toward protecting children and holding child molesters to account.
In abolishing the secret rule, the Pope was giving law enforcement what it could probably already obtain, given the legal power of subpoenas in many jurisdictions, said Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who said he has represented more than 2,000 clergy sex abuse victims over 25 years.
“A truly independent civil authority should be created to oversee what is disclosed by the Catholic Church,” Garabedian said. “It is also now time for Pope Francis to mandate that crimes be reported to the police by bishops, religious superiors and others, and to make documents and testimony public with the appropriate redactions of victims’ names.”
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