Pope Francis has approved the outline of a new system of accountability for bishops who do not appropriately handle accusations of clergy sexual abuse, the Catholic News website reports today (June 10, 2015).
Proposed by Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley at the behest of the Pontificial Commission for the Protection of Minors, the system gives power to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors."
It would also see the establishment of a new office at the congregation to undertake work as a tribunal to judge such bishops.
Such a system will be the first at the Vatican, where bishops have long held near impunity with regard to their actions or inactions on clergy sexual abuse. In the Roman Catholic Church, only the pope can fire prelates, a process that -- if it ever occurs -- normally takes years or even decades.
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