Pope Francis took a massive step towards the eradication of allegations and cases of child rape and molestation involving priests and bishops. On Wednesday, the pope announced the creation of a special tribunal in Vatican which will specifically deal with the said cases including issues involving bishops accused of not taking the necessary measures to crack down on the suspected priests and failing to extend protection to the victims, according to The New York Times.
This move implies tremendous effects in the hierarchy within the Catholic Church as bishops are only held accountable for job-related concerns when such cases reach the Vatican itself. Throughout the years, only cases of gross negligence actually attract the attention of the papal office, thereby resulting in an influx of criticism from the public especially from the families of the abuse victims and organizations advocating for the punishment of these erring priests and bishops.
"It's a major thing because it's putting bishops on notice. It's saying: 'If you don't deal with this, you have to face the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,' and no one wants to face the CDF," explained Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a psychologist and professor at the Catholic University of America, according to The Washington Post.
Rosetti is the former head of St. Luke's Institute, which is one of the major treatment centers for priest-offenders. He further described the accountability aspect of bishops who are the direct superiors of the suspected priests as "the cutting edge" for the Catholic Church. While he acknowledges that the Vatican has long ago classified the rape and molestation of children by the priests as the "gravest of crimes," Rosetti pointed out that the bishops who should have been overseeing the communities were not meted out the appropriate penalty for their failure to protect their flock and immediately put a stop to the crimes.
The proposal to form this special tribunal was made by Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley. In response to this proposal, Pope Francis created a group to work on the suggestion and improve it to guarantee more effective implementation of the proposal's goals.
Rev. Thomas Rosica, the spokesperson of Vatican, wrote in a statement that the new system provides the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith the right "to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors," according to BBC News.
At the moment, the specifics of the new system are yet to be ironed out but advocacy groups and the families of the victims are hopeful that this step will mark the beginning of their success in the fight for justice.
