Pope signs law to prevent child abuse in Vatican and its embassies

By Philip Pullella

 

Pope Francis speaks to the faithful during a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto on the feast of the Annunciation, in Loreto, Italy March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

 

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday made it compulsory in law to report the sexual abuse of children within the Vatican and in its diplomatic missions worldwide.

 

Although the city state within Rome is tiny, and very few children live there, the sweeping legal changes reflect a desire to show that the Catholic Church is finally acting against clerical child abuse after decades of scandals around the world.

 

The changes signed by the pope - who is Vatican head of state as well as head of the Church - make it obligatory for superiors and co-workers to report abuse allegations; punish failure to report with dismissal, fines or jail; and offer assistance to victims and families.

 

There are also provisions to protect vulnerable adults.

 

It is the first time a unified and detailed policy for the protection of children has been compiled for the Vatican and its embassies and universities outside the city state.

 

The law sets up procedures for reporting suspected abuse, imposes more screening of prospective employees, and sets strict guidelines for adult interaction with children and the use of social media.

 

The Church's credibility has been badly tarnished in much of the world by abuse scandals in Ireland, Chile, Australia, France, the United States, Poland, Germany and elsewhere, in which it has paid billions of dollars in damages to victims and been forced to close parishes.

 

"Laws that make even one child safer should be applauded," said Anne Barrett Doyle of the U.S.-based abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org.

 

"While the action is no-risk and limited in scope, it is constructive. It's a baby step in the right direction," she said, calling for the pope to undertake "bold, broad reforms" by changing universal Church law.

 

Senior bishops from around the world met in the Vatican last month to chart a strategy for ending abuse. Victims said the meeting merely produced a restatement of old promises.

 

The scandals have reached the upper echelons of the Vatican itself. Cardinal George Pell, jailed this month for six years for abusing boys in his native Australia, had served as the Vatican treasurer and a member of the pope's innermost council of cardinals.

 

Vatican diplomatic missions have also been involved in scandals in the past. In 2013, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, the Vatican's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, was charged with paying boys for sex. He was recalled and kept in detention in the Vatican but died in 2015 before his trial.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-30

As I am sure it's been said before, maybe also changing that celibacy rule would help. 

The Catholic church needs to enact a law to protect innocent children from abuse?  

 

Most people of the world have known this common decency law since the beginning of man!

 

Glad to see the Catholic church catching-up to the rest of the world after thousands of years...????

Why does he not just sell the vatican..all treasures etc within it and live the simple life as his alledged saviour did.
Religion..what a con..its power over people who need a crutch to help them thro their life.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

"prevent" eh? If that's really the case, every country in the world should follow

WOW!! WOW!!!WOW!!!!  Don't think been any known cases of Child Abuse in the Vatican or Vatican State???

Why??? There's v few children in the Vatican!!

It's a hypocritical  joke!!....

The Pope & Hierarchy simply give 'lip-service' to addressing the issue as done for decades, throughout the Catholic Church & other Churches are just as bad!! 

I don't really understand. Vatican City is a tiny area populated mostly of gay priests. I don't think there are any children living there. I don't think there would be any children living in its embassies either. The Vatican becoming transparent on how it deals with its sexually abusive priests would be far more effective in dealing with its image problem. 

3 minutes ago, Ulic said:

I don't really understand. Vatican City is a tiny area populated mostly of gay priests. I don't think there are any children living there. I don't think there would be any children living in its embassies either. The Vatican becoming transparent on how it deals with its sexually abusive priests would be far more effective in dealing with its image problem. 

I thought being gay was an unoffical pre-requiste for being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. Perhaps someone could advise. That is meant as no offense what-so-ever to gay people, as many of my friends are gay, but none of those friends are Catholics.

GOT: "Words are wind." 

Who would let their kids into the Vatican or a Papal embassy?  That would be as bad as asking MJ to babysit. 

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Pope Francis on Friday made it compulsory in law to report the sexual abuse of children within the Vatican and in its diplomatic missions worldwide.

i see it's still not compulsory to report sexual abuse of children by pedophile priests in church basements.

 

really....how many young boys were raped in one of your embassies?  great job of NOT addressing the problem.

 

 

What has the rational world become when people who believe in the teachings of unseen beings have their own city?!

If the world wants to get take a step towards reducing racism and fear, first thing is to quit recognizing nonsense such as organized religions and teach them as part of a historic mythology course in high schools where they belong.  

Pedophilia should be prosecuted under law for all offenders, the Church of the Inquisitions has been allowed to protect their "members" from these laws for 100's of years  

God's Laws have been around for thousands of years long before any Pope.

What a silly and hollow gesture!! It's just more meaningless promises made by a bunch of sick perverts. Nothing will change in this regard with the horrible Catholic church policing itself. It's time for serious and wide sweeping legislation to ACTUALLY prevent this dysfunctional institution to continue destroying children's lives through its priest's uncontrollable desires. 

Just now, howbri said:

God's Laws have been around for thousands of years long before any Pope.

God's laws ? show me one piece of scientific evidence ?

High time national govts ordered their respective serious crime squads to get involved!!!

What a silly and hollow gesture!! It's just more meaningless promises made by a bunch of sick perverts. Nothing will change in this regard with the horrible Catholic church policing itself. It's time for serious and wide sweeping legislation to ACTUALLY prevent this dysfunctional institution to continue destroying children's lives through its priest's uncontrollable desires. 

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Just now, malagateddy said:

High time national govts ordered their respective serious crime squads to get involved!!!

 

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

The problem is, if the UK conservative government is an example, many government members are secret shirt lifters anyway and generally Masons, so hence don't expect governments to clamp down on this religious band of child molesters any time soon. They have been at it for 2000 years already.

Now this is something I would call really embarrassing! Why did the good Lord allow this child abuse in a holy city like the Vatican? And by his closest servants?

Just now, geoffbezoz said:

The problem is, if the UK conservative government is an example, many government members are secret shirt lifters anyway and generally Masons, so hence don't expect governments to clamp down on this religious band of child molesters any time soon. They have been at it for 2000 years already.

Do these shirt lifters have amulets too?

1 minute ago, ravip said:

Do these shirt lifters have amulets too?

Well statistically the perverts in the Catholic church prefer young boys. Fact.  The Buddhist Monks, certainly based on the reported  de-frocked Monks in Thailand, appear to prefer underage girls.  As to whether they become so resulting from  mumbling and worshipping an inanimate object, as is the case of the Buddhists,  or whether Catholic perverts  get turned on by stroking a rosary, I wouldn't know.  However, in my personel opinion, any man that wears frocks in public have serious physiological issues.

Google.." the blair miranda "..it's a scream..especially the peter mandelson bit!!

The problem is, if the UK conservative government is an example, many government members are secret shirt lifters anyway and generally Masons, so hence don't expect governments to clamp down on this religious band of child molesters any time soon. They have been at it for 2000 years already.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Just now, geoffbezoz said:

Well statistically the perverts in the Catholic church prefer young boys. Fact.  The Buddhist Monks, certainly based on the reported  de-frocked Monks in Thailand, appear to prefer underage girls.  As to whether they become so resulting from  mumbling and worshipping an inanimate object, as is the case of the Buddhists,  or whether Catholic perverts  get turned on by stroking a rosary, I wouldn't know.  However, in my personel opinion, any man that wears frocks in public have serious physiological issues.

But there are many paedophiles walking round without robes or frocks too...just in their dirty shorts, exposing their beer bellies and sweat covered body.

1 minute ago, ravip said:

But there are many paedophiles walking round without robes or frocks too...just in their dirty shorts, exposing their beer bellies and sweat covered body.

Are there ? Please provide some sort of reference to support your argument or is it your personnel experiences from meeting them ?

Just now, geoffbezoz said:

Are there ? Please provide some sort of reference to support your argument or is it your personnel experiences from meeting them ?

You really have never seen them? Never read it in the news? Hmmmmm.

Sorry, I dont collect news items as a hobby, but I keep myself abreast with the news. Just for your information please read this link and after try to find more news items and keep yourself updated.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2325416&page=1

Edit

I've seen them, but never met them personally. No, I dont associate with that type.

14 hours ago, helpisgood said:

As I am sure it's been said before, maybe also changing that celibacy rule would help. 

Celibacy? I think you're missing the real problem. It's the Catholic Church's covered-up of crime by its clergy that bothers me. I suggest, if the church had arrested and convicted their clergy for these crimes; there would be fewer of them. Instead, the Catholic Church aided and abetted the crimes. 

5 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

Are there ? Please provide some sort of reference to support your argument or is it your personnel experiences from meeting them ?

Watch one of Kev in Thailand’s Wednesday meet up nights on YouTube.

I cannot be the only person who thinks that having to issue a law against child abuse is appalling.  Surely any right-minded person would know that it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

But hey the perverts in the various churches believe they have "god on their side"

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Pope signs law to prevent child abuse in Vatican and its embassies

I would argue that there are already sufficient moral, legal and spiritual reasons to compel any reasonable person or organisation to report these abhorrent crimes.  I also do not think that any law can effectively prevent crime.

10 hours ago, ravip said:

Now this is something I would call really embarrassing! Why did the good Lord allow this child abuse in a holy city like the Vatican? And by his closest servants?

 

Because there was no law against it, of course!

 

For some reason, we need laws to forbid us from doing many things that are sanctioned by holy books. ????

Imo..the Chinese have the right idea re organised religion.
Can someone please answer the following.
If one person talks to/prays to his/her imaginary friend..he/she is thought to be crazy..a loony.
However..if a large group of people do the same..it their " religious beliefs ".
The mind boggles..especially when their religious leader(s) live in the lap of luxury, whilst their congregation can be struggling to put food on the table.!!!!!

 
Because there was no law against it, of course!
 
For some reason, we need laws to forbid us from doing many things that are sanctioned by holy books. [emoji849]

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app