What happened?
Pope Francis’s motu proprio last Saturday established legal procedures for removing bishops who mishandle sex abuse cases.
The Pope acknowledged that canon law already allows for a bishop to be removed for negligence, but he said he wanted a more precise definition of the ‘grave reasons’ that could lead to dismissal.
Bishops “must undertake a particular diligence in protecting those who are the weakest among their flock,” Pope Francis wrote.
What the British media are saying
Under the headline “Bishops face sack for mishandling abuse under papal plans”, the BBC website said there had been “long-running demands by abuse victims and their supporters to hold bishops accountable if they fail to protect their flocks from paedophiles”.
Vatican correspondent David Willey played down the motu proprio. “Apart from calling for special diligence by bishops [in protecting children and vulnerable adults], the new document does not imply any greater overall accountability on the part of senior Church officials,” he said.
Willey said that, despite Pope Francis promising speedy response to clerical abuse scandals, disciplinary action against bishops who had been negligent had been “sporadic and slow”.
What the vaticanisti are saying
The National Catholic Reporter said the new rules “could be a breakthrough moment on an issue that has plagued the Church globally”. While Francis has the “firing power”, he would accept the decisions of the tribunals.
Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service said: “The letter clarified that it normally takes a ‘very serious’ lack of due diligence for a bishop to be removed; however, when it comes to a failing to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse, a ‘serious’ lack of due diligence ‘is sufficient’ grounds for removal.”
Fr John Zuhlsdorf took a more sceptical line. “Bishops will now have an even greater motive to hammer innocent priests into the ground in order to cover their episcopal backsides. Will this mark another ‘open season’ on priests?”
The most overlooked story of the week
✣ Bishop: papal document contains ‘real dangers’
What happened?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider said Amoris Laetitia includes passages which “contain a real spiritual danger”. Responding to an open letter from The Remnant newspaper, Bishop Schneider said some parts of the document may cause “doctrinal confusion” and undermine the sacraments of Confession, matrimony and the Eucharist.
Why was it under-reported?
The Remnant is far from the Catholic mainstream: it once published an article criticising “Jorge Bergoglio and his reign of terror and destruction of souls”. That is not Bishop Schneider’s tone; nevertheless, his intervention exemplifies how more moderate figures – the venerable philosopher Robert Spaemann, for instance – are increasingly critical of the Francis pontificate. Many readers cannot square the Church’s established teaching with Amoris Laetitia’s words about the moral law and offering Communion to the civilly remarried.
What will happen next?
Bishop Schneider suggests that all Catholics faithful to their baptismal vows should make “a profession of fidelity, enunciating concretely and clearly all those Catholic truths, which are in some expressions of Amoris Laetitia undermined or ambiguously disfigured”. This should be done with “filial deference to the vicar of Christ”, he said. Such a general public statement would be unprecedented. But if other bishops echo Bishop Schneider’s words, this will become a story that cannot be ignored.
✣ The week ahead
A public debate in Westminster Cathedral Hall at 6.15pm next Wednesday will consider whether Catholic values and interests are best upheld by the UK remaining a member of the EU. Baroness Smith and Tom Tugendhat MP will speak for remaining in the EU; Gisela Stuart MP and journalist Tim Stanley will speak against. The debate is hosted by Catholic Voices.
The Pope’s Year of Mercy jubilee audience for the sick and people with disabilities will take place in Rome starting this afternoon. It will culminate in a Mass on the theme “When the weak are strong” in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols will attend a national service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral marking the Queen’s 90th birthday at 11am today. The service will be televised. There will also be a celebration of Mass for the Queen at Westminster Cathedral at 10.30am on Sunday. Her Majesty, meanwhile, will be spending the day with 10,000 guests on the Mall.