Amid violence, Central African Republic bishops denounce 'lack of patriotisms'
- Jan 19, 2021
Pope Francis has issued a new law formalizing the ability for women and girls to be lectors and altar servers at Mass, something which has long been the common practice in western countries such as the United States but had yet to be written into law.
Pope Francis has issued a new norm changing the name of the Vatican’s “Secret” Archive on the basis that the term has been misinterpreted in modern linguistics and fails to communicate the purpose of the historical collection.
While we wait to assess the enforcement of Pope Francis’s new rules on reporting and investigating clerical sexual abuse, here are three thoughts about their possible implications.
Though a new set of norms from Pope Francis on the handling of abuse cases and cover-up has been hailed as an important step in the right direction, the Vatican’s oversight of lay movements is still unclear, a point reflected in the fact that when two of the Church’s leading experts were asked about it Tuesday, they gave slightly contrasting responses.
Pope Francis released a new law on Thursday making it mandatory for all clerics and members of religious orders to report cases of clerical sexual abuse to Church authorities, including when committed by bishops or cardinals.
Sources who spoke on background have told Crux that new Vatican norms on clerical abuse risk being so rushed that instead of making things clearer, the text may raise more questions than it answers.