Thank God, *everything* is now crystal clear ... isn't it?

Luis
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PUBLICATION OF CDF NORMS ON MOST SERIOUS CRIMES

VATICAN CITY, 15 JUL 2010 (VIS) - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith today published its new "Norms concerning the most serious crimes".
Given below is the text of an explanatory note on the new measures, issued
by Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J.

   In 2001 the Holy Father John Paul II promulgated a very important
document, the Motu Proprio "Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela", which gave
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responsibility to deal with
and judge a series of particularly serious crimes within the ambit of canon
law. This responsibility had previously been attributed also to other
dicasteries, or was not completely clear.

   The Motu Proprio (the "law" in the strict sense) was accompanied by a
series of practical and procedural Norms, known as "Normae de gravioribus
delictis". Over the nine years since then, experience has naturally
suggested that these Norms be integrated and updated, so as to streamline
and simplify the procedures and make them more effective, and to take
account of new problems. This has been achieved principally by the Pope
attributing new "faculties" to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith; faculties which, however, were not organically integrated into the
initial Norms. This has now come about, within the context of a systematic
revision of those Norms.

   The serious crimes to which the regulations referred concerned vital
aspects of Church life: the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance, but
also sexual abuse committed by a priest against a minor under the age of
eighteen.

   The vast public echo this latter kind of crime has had over recent years
has attracted great attention and generated intense debate on the norms and
procedures applied by the Church to judge and punish such acts.

   It is right, then, that there should be complete clarity concerning the
regulations currently in force in this field, and that these regulations be
presented organically so as to facilitate the work of the people who deal
with these matters.

   An initial clarification - especially for use by the media - was provided
recently with the publication on the Holy See website of a brief "Guide to
Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations". The
publication of the new Norms is, however, quite a different thing, providing
us with an official and updated legal text which is valid for the whole
Church.

   In order to facilitate the reading of the Norms by a non-specialist
public, particularly interested in the problems of sexual abuse, we will
seek to highlight a number of important aspects:

   Among the novelties introduced with respect to the earlier Norms, mention
must be made, above all, of measures intended to accelerate procedures, such
as the possibility of not following the "judicial process" but proceeding by
"extrajudicial decree", or that of presenting (in particular circumstances)
the most serious cases to the Holy Father with a view to dismissing the
offender from the clerical state.

   Another Norm intended to simplify earlier problems and to take account of
the evolution of the situation in the Church concerns the possibility of
having not only priests but also lay persons as members of the tribunal
staff, or as lawyers or prosecutors. Likewise, in order to undertake these
functions it is no longer strictly necessary to have a doctorate in canon
law, but the required competency can also be proved in another way; for
example, with a licentiate.

   Another aspect worthy of note is the increase of the statue of
limitations
from ten years to twenty years, with the possibility of extension even
beyond that period.

   Another significant aspect is establishing parity between the abuse of
mentally disabled people and that of minors, and the introduction of a new
category: paedophile pornography. This is defined as: "the acquisition,
possession or disclosure" by a member of the clergy, "in any way and by any
means, of pornographic images of minors under the age of fourteen".

   Regulations concerning the secrecy of trials are maintained, in order to
safeguard the dignity of all the people involved.

   One point that remains untouched, though it has often been the subject of
discussion in recent times, concerns collaboration with the civil
authorities. It must be borne in mind that the Norms being published today
are part of the penal code of canon law, which is complete in itself and
entirely distinct from the law of States.

   On this subject, however, it is important to take note of the "Guide to
Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations", as
published on the Holy See website. In that Guide, the phrase "Civil law
concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always
be followed" is contained in the section dedicated to "Preliminary
Procedures". This means that in the practice suggested by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith it is necessary to comply with the
requirements of law in the various countries, and to do so in good time, not
during or subsequent to the canonical trial.

   Today's publication of the Norms makes a great contribution to the
clarity
and certainty of law in this field; a field in which the Church is today
strongly committed to proceeding with rigour and transparency so as to
respond fully to the just expectations of moral coherence and evangelical
sanctity nourished by the faithful and by public opinion, and which the Holy
Father has constantly reiterated.

   Of course, many other measures and initiatives are required from the
various ecclesiastical bodies. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith is currently examining how to help the bishops of the world formulate
and develop, coherently and effectively, the indications and guidelines
necessary to face the problems of the sexual abuse of minors, either by
members of the clergy or within the environment of activities and
institutions connected with the Church, bearing in mind the situation and
the problems of the societies in which they operate.

   This will be another crucial step on the Church's journey as she
translates into permanent practice and continuous awareness the fruits of
the teachings and ideas that have matured over the course of the painful
events of the "crisis" engendered by sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

   In order to complete this brief overview of the principal novelties
contained in the "Norms", mention must also be made of those that refer to
crimes of a different nature. In this case too it is not so much a case of
introducing new substance as of integrating rules that are already in force
so as to obtain a better ordered and more organic set of regulations on the
"most serious crimes" reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith.

   These include crimes against the faith (heresy, apostasy and schism) for
which competency normally falls to ordinaries, although the Congregation
becomes competent in the case of an appeal; the malicious recording and
disclosure of sacramental Confession about which a decree of condemnation
was published in 1988; and the attempted ordination of women, about which a
decree was published in 2007.
OP/                                    VIS
20100715 (1190)