VATICAN CITY
CNN
By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor
(CNN)Pope Francis has created a church tribunal to judge bishops who fail to protect children from sexually abusive priests, the Vatican announced Wednesday, a move long sought by abuse victims and their advocates.
The new court will be part of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Catholic Church’s chief watchdog. Since 2001, the congregation has judged priests accused of sexual abuse, but there has been no Vatican office with a similar role to judge bishops.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the Pope will appoint a secretary and permanent staff for the tribunal. The tribunal was proposed by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was appointed last year by Pope Francis.
Longtime critics of the Vatican called Wednesday’s move a “sea change” within the Catholic Church.
“Priests abuse children, and so do bishops,” said Terence McKiernan, president of the watchdog group BishopAccountability.org. “Bishops who offend are inevitable enablers, and the commission’s plan must confront that sad fact.”…
“I don’t have a lot of background information on it,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, Kurtz said, he welcomes the Pope’s new tribunal. “We are eager to cooperate, and we know it’s a direction that we have to take seriously.”
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who is also in St. Louis for the meeting of Catholic bishops, said the tribunal does not represent the first time that popes have held bishops accountable.
“Throughout history popes have deposed bishops for various reasons,” he said.
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