Vatican is all set to revise its rules dealing with sexual abuse
July 9th, 2010 - 9:14 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattVatican City, July 9 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The head of the Catholic Church - Vatican says that they would revise the rules on child sex abuse. The church will introduce penalties for child pornography by the church’s priests. The announcement was made on Thursday at the Vatican City.
The church has come under intense criticism for child abuse by its priests. Abuse has been reported in Europe, America and South America.
The current head of the church - Pope Benedict has asked for forgiveness from God and victims of the abuse and has called on the church to equally ask for forgiveness.
Under the revision, victims will be eligible to report the abuse 20 years from their 18th birthday. That means any child who is abused will be able to report the abuse up to the age of 38 years. Many observers say this move is significant because most of the abuse victims do not have the courage to report the abuse in their childhood. It is when they are well into their adulthood, that they get the courage to confront their abusers.
The revision also gives the local bishops the power to defrock priests who engage in child abuse. This however can only be done when there is enough evidence that the priest has committed the offense.
- Sex abuse 'victim' to sue the Pope in US - Apr 23, 2010
- Vatican Geared Up To Modify Regulations On Sexual Abuse - Jul 09, 2010
- 4,000 cases of Catholic priests abusing kids probed - Feb 08, 2012
- Italian church welcomes legal action in sex abuse cases - Oct 02, 2010
- Pope calls for Church to reflect on what led to abuse - Dec 21, 2010
- Sex abuse victims meet Vatican spokesman - Nov 02, 2010
- New Vatican Sexual Abuse Rules On The Way - Jul 09, 2010
- Priests' sex abuse is 'weakness of sin', says Pope - May 28, 2010
- Pope begins talks with Irish bishops over sex scandal - Feb 15, 2010
- Vatican to release sex abuse document - Jul 07, 2010
- Vatican's New Sex Abuse Document To Be Published Soon - Jul 07, 2010
- Pope ready to meet sex abuse victims - Apr 10, 2010
- Third Irish bishop resigns over child abuse - Apr 22, 2010
- Sex abuse scandal overshadows Pope's British trip - Sep 14, 2010
- Pope condemns Belgian sex raids - Jun 28, 2010
Tags: 18th birthday, abuse victims, adulthood, bishops, catholic church, child abuse, child pornography, child sex abuse, courage, europe, forgiveness, god, intense criticism, observers, pope benedict, priests, sexual abuse, south america, vatican, vatican city