After what seems like a long wait, the Vatican has today released the revised norms of canon law for dealing with paedophile priests.
There is a great deal of good in the document: the new norms allow for faster action on abusive priests, extend the Church’s statute of limitations from 10 years after a victim’s 18th birthday to 20 years, specifically include abuse of the mentally disabled and also introduce a clause for dealing with the possession of child pornography.
And yet, the document will have even the most Ultramontane Catholics (excluding canon lawyers, perhaps) battering their heads against desks: “Was it really so hard to get this one right?”
