Bishops who cover up pedophile priests can be
removed from office, Pope Francis announced on Saturday under new church laws.
The move comes amid controversy surrounding the
Catholic Church scandal of widespread sexual abuse against hundreds of victims,
who have been accusing the Vatican of failing to hold pedophile priests
accountable.
Victims of abuse accused bishops of moving
priests to a different parish, rather than taking action to report them to the
police or church authorities.
Pope Francis maintained that present church laws already allowed
for bishops to be removed from their roles for negligent behavior, but said he
wanted the “grave reasons” to be more accurately defined,
according to the Guardian.
While the pontiff’s announcement has been
seen as progress against ongoing scandals surrounding the church, Pope Francis
recently defended French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon,
who has been accused of covering up abuse carried out by Bernard Preynat, a
priest in the diocese that was charged with sexually abusing boys.
Barbarin traveled to the
Vatican last month for a private meeting with the Pope and continued to deny
any wrongdoing as the case goes on.
“Based
on the information that I have, I believe that Cardinal Barbarin in Lyon took
the necessary measures and that he has matters under control,” Pope Francis told Catholic newspaper La
Croix at the time.
Whether or not the latest
announcement will be seen as all talk no action, will be tested next week when
the pontiff will choose whether to allow his current financial chief, Cardinal
George Pell, to remain in his position despite Pell being accused of covering
up a long-standing abuse scandal in Australia.
British abuse survivor Peter
Saunders said the Pope has been more vocal about sexual abuse in the church,
but criticized the ongoing cover ups of other incidents.
Pope Francis met victims of
Catholic church sex abuse during a visit to the US last year and vowed to clamp
down on the widespread problem.
Ongoing scandals have reportedly cost the US Catholic church $4
billion in settlements over the past 65 years, according to a report by National
Catholic Reporter.
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