Skip to main content

Pope Francis Scraps Catholic Secrecy Rule Over Sex Abuse

December 17, 2019

In the past, the Catholic Church has been accused of using secrecy laws as a justification for not reporting cases of abuse.

Image

 

Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of sexual abuses of minors by abolishing the rule of "pontifical secrecy".

In the past, the Catholic Church has been accused of using secrecy laws as a justification for not reporting cases of abuse.

The consequence of breaching the pontifical secret was excommunication from the church, so there was little incentive to be open to state authorities.

That prohibition has now been abolished.

New papal documents lift the obligation of silence on those, who report abuse or say they have been victims, the BBC reports.

Church leaders called for the rule's abolition at a February Vatican summit.

Information in abuse cases should still be treated with "security, integrity and confidentiality", the Pope said.

He also instructed Vatican officials to comply with civil laws while maintaining confidentiality, and assist the civil judicial authorities in investigating such cases.

The Pope has also changed the Vatican's definition of child pornography, increasing the age of the subject from 14 or under to 18 or under.

Pontifical secrecy was a rule of confidentiality which protected sensitive information regarding the governance of the church, similar to the "classified" or "confidential" status used in companies or civil governments, reports says.