Vatican: Clergy, Religious Workers Must Report Sex Abuse, Cover-Up

 

The Vatican announced changes in Roman Catholic Church law on Thursday.

Pope Francis is requiring all Catholic clergy¹ and religious workers to report clergy sex abuse and cover-up by their church high-ups to Vatican officials.

The move is part of a new effort to hold the Catholic leadership responsible for failing to protect the church’s members.

The new church law provides protections for anyone making an accusation². It requires all Catholic dioceses around the world to create a system to receive the claims without identifying the name of the accuser. It also establishes the steps for an investigation³ when the accused is an important church official, such as a bishop⁴ or cardinal⁵.

Francis is trying to find a way to answer the reports of clergy sex abuse and efforts by Catholic officials to cover-up the incidents. The accusations⁶ have badly damaged the church and Francis’ leadership.

“People must know that bishops⁷ are at the service of the people,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna. “They are not above the law.” Scicluna has represented the Vatican in sex abuse cases for many years.

The new law

The law requires the world’s 415,000 Catholic priests and 660,000 religious sisters to report when they learn or “believe” that a priest or nun⁸ has sexually abused a child. It also orders them to contact church officials if they know of sexual wrongdoing with an adult. And they are must tell officials if someone possesses child pornography, or if they have information about a cover-up.

The law does not require them to report accusations of sexual abuse to the police, as victims have demanded. The Vatican has always said that different legal systems in different countries make such a requirement impossible. They fear it could endanger the church in places where Catholics are an oppressed minority. But the Vatican law says that priests and nuns⁹ must obey legal requirements where they live.

The Catholic Church is preparing for many abuse and cover-up reports in the coming months. Catholic priests and nuns must now inform church officials of any information they have, even old cases of sexual wrongdoing and cover-ups.

In the past, clergy and religious workers could decide for themselves if they should inform a church official of suspected sexual abuse of a child. Now it is church law. While there is no punishment for the failure to inform, that priest or nun could be accused of a cover-up.

The law defines the crimes as: sexual activity with a vulnerable person or someone not yet considered an adult; sexual activity with an adult through violence or through abuse of power and anything having to do with child pornography. Cover-up is explained as acts “intended to interfere¹⁰ with or avoid” investigations¹¹.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet is the head of the Vatican’s bishop office. He said the inclusion of sex crimes involving adults was clearly tied to cases of sexual abuse of nuns and seminary students by priests.

But Scicluna said it clearly covered anyone employed by the church, not only clergy.

Welcoming victims of abuse

In another legal first for the Vatican, Pope Francis ordered that victims of abuse must be welcomed, listened to and supported by the church. They must be offered spiritual, medical and emotional help.

The law says victims cannot be forced to keep quiet. It says victims must be informed of the results of the investigation, if they ask for it. In the past, many who informed the church of sexual abuse were never told how the investigation ended or what happened to the abuser.

Victims and their supporters have said that Catholic bishops and leaders who sexually abused children escaped justice. They also say religious superiors failed to protect their communities. Bishops and other high-level officials answer only to the pope. Few have been removed for sex abuse or cover-up, and usually only after terrible acts of sexual abuse became known to the public.

Last summer, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was thrown out of the church after a U.S. investigation found he had abused children. McCarrick had risen all the way to the position of cardinal, although the Vatican had received many accusations against him over the years.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

diocese – n. the area that is controlled by a bishop in a Christian¹² church

pornography – n. movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement

vulnerable – adj. easily hurt or harmed physically¹³, mentally, or emotionally

seminary – n. a school for training religious leaders

1 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

2 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

8 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

9 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

10 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。