Pope Francis Abolishes 'Pontifical Secret' in Catholic Hierarchy Sex Abuse Cases

Pope Francis lifts cloak of ‘pontifical secret’ around Vatican sex abuse allegations.

Pope Francis has abolished the “pontifical secret” mechanism, a secret trap door that has been invoked in Catholic clergy sexual abuse cases to protect pedophiles. The document published Tuesday doesn’t end protection of information in abuse cases by church leaders, but that the “pontifical secret”, decreed in 2001 by Pope Benedict XVI in sex-abuse cases, no longer applies to abuse-related accusations and trials. At the time Benedict argued that “pontifical secret” was required to protect the privacy of the victim.

Victims argue that the cloak of “pontifical secret” was in reality designed to silence them, protecting the church hierarchy from the investigation of sex crimes by law enforcement authorities. Experts say the reform will remove any excuse for Catholic officials to not co-operate with legitimate legal requests from civil law-enforcement authorities. In another related new rule, Francis raised the cutoff age below which the Vatican considers pornographic images to be child pornography to 18 from the current cutoff of age 14.

The decision by Pope Francis comes days after John Bellocchio, 37, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York demanding “sweeping child protection changes.” Bellocchio claims former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused him as a teenager, age 14 and living in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Bellocchio, who is represented by Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson, filed a lawsuit in New Jersey the week prior. The suit names the Archdiocese of Newark as a defendant, based on McCarrick’s position as archbishop of Newark, New Jersey from 1986 to 2000.

In a third action on Tuesday, December 17, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of his ambassador to France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, who has been accused of sexual misconduct.

The Catholic Reporter website shares detailed information regarding these new announcements.