Last November, following the Pennsylvania grand jury allegations of episcopal cover-up in clerical abuse cases, the US bishops met in Baltimore hoping to pass a tougher code of conduct that would involve the lay faithful in episcopal accountability. Before they could begin, Cardinal DiNardo had to announce to his brothers that the Holy See did not want them to pursue any such code, awaiting a February abuse summit in Rome that eventually came and went with a whimper.
On Thursday, however, the Holy Father published the most comprehensive plan to date dealing with bishops on sexual abuse. Vos Estis Lux Mundi — "You are the Light of the World" — is a genuine advance for the Church and a model for other institutions wracked by sexual abuse. It mainly focuses on the protection of minors and “vulnerable adults”, but crucially, it includes protections for seminarians and religious who can be exploited and coerced under the sway of superiors. In other words, the Pope not only wants to ensure this never happens again to children, but also adults under authority, like those seminarians "Uncle Ted" McCarrick used to take to his infamous beach house.
