AUSTRALIA
Courier
Melissa Cunningham and Olivia Shying
June 6, 2016
Catholic bishops found guilty of negligence when dealing with cases of sexual abuse can now be removed from office Pope Francis has announced.
The move will also apply to other senior Church officials and was unveiled in a papal decree on Sunday which said such cases would now fall under existing canon law allowing for prelates to be sacked for “serious reasons”. The Pope previously pledged zero tolerance for anyone in the church who abuses children and likened such abuse to a “satanic mass”.
Survivors have long demanded the Catholic Church do more to make bishops accountable for abuse in their dioceses. Ballarat survivor Andrew Collins remained sceptical about the Pope’s pledge. He feared it would not go far enough to eradicate the scourge of sexual abuse inside the Church.
“It’s not only bishops that must be removed but any religious clergy that have abused or covered it up,” Mr Collins said. “For a victim of child sexual abuse, there is nothing more frustrating than offending clergy getting convicted for raping children but then being able to remain a priest or a Christian brother.”
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