IT’S ABOUT TIME…Vatican makes clear bishops must report sex abuse to police
This news demonstrates the power of the press. The steady drumbeat of reporting about clergy sex abuse has moved the Vatican to change. This is a small step, but a good one.
I’ve added an editorial comment using red bold font in brackets [like this]
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Vatican makes clear bishops must report sex abuse
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has for the first time made it clear that bishops and other high-ranking clergy should report clerical sex abuse to police.
The Vatican has insisted that this has long been the Catholic Church’s policy [this is BS--Bishops' Speak]. But in a new guide for lay readers posted Monday on its Web site, it made public for the first time an explicit policy of reporting abuse to law-enforcement.
The guidelines read: “Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.”
That phrase was not included in a draft of the guidelines obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The rest of the guidelines follow previously known and public procedures for handling canonical investigations and trials of suspected abuse.
2 Responses to “IT’S ABOUT TIME…Vatican makes clear bishops must report sex abuse to police”
April 12, 2010 at 3:43 pm
This is no different than the bank robber who says “Report all bank robberies to the police,” all the while hoping that his past crimes will be forgotten.
April 12, 2010 at 7:27 pm
“The guidelines read: ‘Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.’ ”
Think carefully about the use of the word “should” rather than the word “must”. Looks like we’re flummoxed again.