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| US bishops have approved a change to Church law on reporting sex abuse first announced by Pope Francis in May 2019 (AFP Photo/Filippo MONTEFORTE) |
Washington (AFP) - The Catholic Church in the United States, which has been rocked in recent years by child sex abuse scandals and investigations, on Thursday approved a papal document that requires clergy to report suspicions of sexual assault.
At a
meeting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, participants
approved by a large majority the changes to the US catechism, which also reinforces
systems in place for victims to signal alleged abuse.
The
"motu proprio" -- a legal document issued under Pope Francis's
personal authority -- declares that anyone who has knowledge of abuse, or
suspects it, is "obliged to report (it) promptly" to the Church,
using "easily accessible systems."
The law
only applies within the Church and has no force to oblige individuals to report
abuse to civil authorities.
Under the
new measure, every diocese around the world is obliged by June 2020 to create a
system for the reporting of sexual abuse by clerics, the use of child
pornography and cover-ups of abuse.
Until now,
clergy only reported sexual abuse according to their own consciences.
"We
approved some motions that will help us to move forward, especially in light of
bishops' accountability... and reaffirming the need of lay expertise to help us
in our work," said conference spokesman Michael Burbidge.
Victims'
rights groups cried foul, especially about the lack of obligation to report any
alleged crimes to the police.
Survivors
Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the bishops' policy of
"self-policing" was not enough and could lead to continued abuse.
"US
bishops do not operate a self-governing country when it comes to criminal acts
against children," said SNAP board member Becky Ianni.
'Predator' priests
The Church
is in the throes of a major crisis of confidence in the United States, with
multiple revelations of sexual assault and abuse committed by priests
nationwide, notably targeting children, over the course of decades.
Those
priests were largely shielded from prosecution by their superiors.
In August
2018, a devastating report from a Pennsylvania grand jury revealed that more
than 300 "predator" priests had allegedly abused over 1,000 children
across seven decades.
That
scandal forced the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who served as a bishop
in Pennsylvania and was blamed for not doing enough to deal with pedophile
priests.
Another
influential US cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, was defrocked earlier this year
over accusations that he sexually abused a teenage boy in the 1970s.
Bishop
Michael Bransfield stepped down last year amid allegations that he sexually
harassed adults.
The
Catholic Church is not the only one under scrutiny in the United States.
Also this
week, delegates attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention
in Alabama easily approved a resolution to bar congregations where allegations
of sexual abuse are mishandled.
The
decision marked a significant change for a church with 15 million members. The
Southern Baptist Convention is largely decentralized and individual churches
are largely autonomous.
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There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.
It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.
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Pope Francis meets with leaders from the US church at the Vatican on Thursday
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Part of the painting, said to one of the highlights of the Vatican collection
|
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.
There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.
It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.
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