<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Pope Francis this week announced long-overdue changes to the way the Catholic Churches deals with sexual abuse, primarily the lifting of “pontifical secrecy” in abuse allegations, trials, and decisions under the Church’s canon law. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Pontifical secrecy” is an old rule of confidentiality that protects sensitive information related to the governance of the Church. For years, offenders used pontifical secrecy to avoid cooperating with authorities and victims. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Certain jurisdictions would have easily quoted the pontifical secret…to say that they could not, and that they were not authorized to share information with either state authorities or the victims,” explains Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta. “Now that impediment, we might call it that way, has been lifted, and the pontifical secret is no more an excuse.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Moving forward, the Church will:</b></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="s2">Report crimes when required by law </span></li>
<li><span class="s2">Cooperate with law enforcement </span></li>
<li><span class="s2">Allow victims to be updated on cases </span></li>
<li><span class="s2">Not encourage victims or those who report abuse to remain silent</span></li>
<li><span class="s2">Define the age for which pornography is considered child porn as 18 years or under (previously 14)</span></li>
</ul>
<p><em><span class="s1">These changes come nearly a year after </span><span class="s1">Francis hosted a first-of-its-kind summit on child sex abuse, and while they are certainly a step in the right direction, they do not change the way the Vatican holds trials for alleged abusers.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span class="s1">Victims continue to demand that Francis do more to </span><span class="s1">hold </span><span class="s1">bishops accountable for past abuse. </span></em></p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> The damage to the Catholic Church has been incalculable. This should have been done 60 years ago.</p>