Pope tightens penalties for Child Sexual Abuse

Pope Francis on Thursday announced a reform of the Vatican penal code, introducing tighter penalties for child abuse, financial crimes and official leaks, while abolishing life sentences.
The move comes in the wake of: paedophilia scandals that rocked the Catholic Church in recent years; allegations of wrongdoing at its bank, the Institute of Religious Works; and the embarrassment of the VatiLeaks affair.
Child trafficking, prostitution and sex abuse, as well as possession of child pornography, were specifically mentioned as crimes punishable with 5-12 years in prison, according to reforms due to enter into force on Sept. 1.
Under the old system, child abuse was covered by crimes against “good customs,’’ warranting jail sentences ranging from three to 10 years.
Francis made the penal code changes applicable not just to employees of the Curia, the Church’s governing body, but also to Vatican diplomatic staff posted abroad and lay people and clergy working in other Holy See institutions.
That makes such people “indictable” by Vatican justice even when they commit crimes “outside the borders of the state,” Monsignor Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s “foreign minister,” told reporters.
The Vatican’s handling of paedophilia cases in its ranks has been put under observation by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva.

A UN spokesman said on Thursday the panel hoped to hold a session on the issue in January.
In view of that discussion, the committee has asked for “detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns or brought to the attention of the Holy See,” to be submitted by November.
In addition, the committee’s 18 experts had specific questions about allegations of forced labour and taking away of babies in Catholic-run laundries in Ireland.
Francis’ legal reforms also gave Vatican authorities the power to seize assets from officials suspected of corruption and jurisdiction over “crimes committed against the security, the fundamental interests or the patrimony of the Holy See”.