In major rewrite of church law, Pope Francis aims for clearer penalties for sex abuse offenders
Posted on AllSides June 1st, 2021
From The Left
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The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis has signed off on a rewrite of the universal Catholic Church's internal penal system, updating a version in place since the 1980s and laying out clearer penalties for the sexual abuse of minors.
The changes, years in the making, are in part a response to the church’s raft of abuse and financial scandals — which have often been magnified by secretive, highly subjective decision-making about how and whether to apply punishments.
Pope Francis, in a letter accompanying the revisions, said the laws are intended to be clearer...
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