✣ Pope sets out process for removing bishops
What happened? Pope Francis’s motu proprio last Saturday established legal procedures for removing bishops who mishandle sex abuse cases. The Pope acknowledged that canon law already allows for a bishop to be removed for negligence, but he said he wanted a more precise definition of the ‘grave reasons’ that could lead to dismissal. Bishops “must undertake a particular diligence in protecting those who are the weakest among their flock,” Pope Francis wrote. What the British media are saying Under the headline “Bishops face sack for mishandling abuse under papal plans”, the BBC website said there had been “long-running demands by abuse victims and their supporters to hold bishops accountable if they fail to protect their flocks from paedophiles”. Vatican correspondent David Willey played down the motu proprio. “Apart from calling for special diligence by bishops [in protecting children and vulnerable adults], the new document does not imply any greater overall accountability on the part of senior Church officials,” he said. Willey said that, despite Pope Francis promising speedy response to clerical abuse scandals, disciplinary action against bishops who had been negligent had been “sporadic and slow”. What the vaticanisti are saying The National Catholic Reporter said the new rules “could be a breakthrough moment on an issue that has plagued the Church globally”. While Francis has the “firing power”, he would accept the decisions of the tribunals. Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service said: “The letter clarified that it normally takes a ‘very serious’ lack of due diligence for a bishop to be removed; however, when it comes to a failing to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse, a ‘serious’ lack of due diligence ‘is sufficient’ grounds for removal.” Fr John Zuhlsdorf took a more sceptical line. “Bishops will now have an even greater motive to hammer innocent priests into the ground in order to cover their episcopal backsides. Will this mark another ‘open season’ on priests?”
