What happened?
Whistleblowers will be protected and bishops given extra scrutiny under new laws promulgated by Pope Francis last Thursday. Vos estis lux mundi, a new motu proprio, requires all dioceses to have a confidential procedure for receiving allegations.
Priests and religious, it makes clear, are required by canon law to report bishops’ offences. These offences include the misuse of power to sexually coerce victims. Metropolitan bishops will investigate suffragan bishops.
What commentators said
