Pope Francis expands Catholic Church sexual abuse law to combat abuse

Pope Francis on Saturday revamped the 2019 church law that oversees clerical sexual abuse and amended it to ensure the accountability for Catholic lay leaders, according to CNN. Francis extended the law so that the lay leaders of Vatican-approved religious organizations. other than clergy members, can also be held accountable for sexual abuse-related cases.

The laws were incorporated by Francis in an Apostolic letter, Vos estis lux mundi, in 2019. They were initially mandated for only four years, but Pope Francis on March 26, expanded them. He made minor changes to the sexual abuse document and made it permanent. The law will be effective April 30, according to a document released by the Vatican.

Vatican struggled to handle sex abuse scandals for decades

Catholic Church, for decades, has reportedly struggled to handle sex abuse scandals across several countries worldwide. Pope Francis on Saturday vowed to take “concrete measures” to address the reports about sexual harassment or misconduct. Among the changes Francis made, the lay leaders of Vatican-approved associations will now be held accountable for cover-ups of sexual abuse. The pontiff also modified the definition of abuse victims that were previously described as  “minors and vulnerable persons.” The new document defines victims as “a minor, or with a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason, or with a vulnerable adult.”

Pope's decision to expand the laws came in response to the many cases that have come to light in recent years in connection with the church's lay leaders. The latter have been accused of trying to abuse their authority to sexually exploit people. As per the amended law, the church recognizes that adults can be victims of predator priests. Even the nuns or seminarians who are dependent on their bishops or superiors can be the victims. The document's expansion ensures that the adults can seek resistance from within the Vatican should they face abuse. The document noted that a vulnerable person is “any person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want or otherwise resist the offense.”