It is no secret that the Catholic Church has a long and complicated history of sexual abuse. This problem is not new, and in recent years the church has been rocked by a series of high-profile scandals.
These issues are rooted date back in early years of Christianity: The Roman Catholic canon law system.
Each revelation that a priest sexually molested a minor and the perpetrator managed to get away with the crime highlights the possibility of canonical procedures failing to protect the victim.
The Roman Catholic has its own legal system that incorporates a comprehensive judicial framework and a complex set of laws, also called canons, which regulate the church.
But critics of the system say that the canon law system assigns excessive importance to the overall protection of the church institution, encouraging secrecy. This secrecy favors wayward priests since they know how to manipulate the system to evade justice.
For instance, while abusive priests and clergy members can be defrocked for gross misconduct, the church can’t send anyone to prison.
So, how has the Roman Catholic church’s canon law system affected the clergy abuse crisis? Here is everything you need to know.
Understanding the Canon Law System
Before diving into how the canon law system has affected the clergy abuse scandal, it is crucial to understand this system.
The Catholic Church’s canon law is a set of regulations and rules that guide the church on how it should be run. The canons are decreed by the church’s supreme authority, the pope, and they cover a wide range of topics, from how mass should be conducted to the governance of Catholic institutions.
The canon law system is usually compared to secular justice systems, but there are crucial differences.
For instance, while both systems have laws that must be followed, the church’s canons are based on religious principles rather than state-enforced rules.
Also, while judges in the secular world are required to follow the letter of the law, Catholic canon judges have some leeway to use their discretion when making decisions.
This is because salvation is seen as the ultimate goal in the Catholic Church, and canon judges must take this into account when making rulings.
The church’s judicial system comprises three main courts: the Apostolic Signatura, the Supreme Court of the Vatican City State, and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.
There are also other lower courts, including diocesan tribunals, which handle most disputes within the church.
What Is the Overlap Between Canon Law and Civil Laws?
To be clear, child sexual abuse is considered a criminal act under Roman Catholic law. Canon #1395 in the Code of Canon Law clearly states that if a priest has had any sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16years, they must be punished with other penalties other than just being dismissed from the clerical state.
Generally, canon law does not and should not pre-empt or override civil and criminal legal systems. However, the Catholic Church is not subject to civil laws, meaning it can’t be sued or forced to comply with investigations by secular authorities.
This has been a point of contention for many years, and it was one of the main arguments used by advocates of a zero-tolerance policy toward abusive priests in the early 2000s.
They argued that since the Catholic Church is not subject to civil laws, it can’t be trusted to investigate and punish abusive priests. This, in turn, would lead to more victims being abused since there would be no repercussions for the perpetrator.
However, the Catholic Church has consistently argued that its canon law system is just as effective as any secular justice system.
In 2001, the Vatican released a document called “The canonical process in cases of solicitation,” which outlined the procedures that should be followed when a priest is accused of sexual misconduct.
The document stated that all accusations must be reported to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the Vatican office responsible for investigating cases of clergy sexual abuse.
If the congregation finds enough evidence to support the accusation, the priest will be tried in a canonical court. If found guilty, the priest can be defrocked, which is the Catholic equivalent of being fired.
The Canon Law System and Clergy Abuse
Now that we have a basic understanding of the Catholic Church’s canon law system, let’s look at how it affected the clergy abuse scandal.
As we mentioned earlier, the Catholic Church has consistently argued that its canon law system is just as effective as any secular justice system.
However, there are several reasons why many people believe that the church’s judicial system is not equipped to deal with the clergy abuse scandal.
First of all, the vast majority of cases are not reported to the authorities. This is because, in many cases, the victims are children who are afraid to speak out, and their parents may not want to go against the church.
Even when cases are reported, it can be difficult to get cooperation from the church since the Catholic Church is not subject to civil laws, meaning that it can’t be forced to comply with investigations by secular authorities.
For example, in 2002, the Boston Globe published a report about how the Catholic Church protected abusive priests by transferring them to different parishes instead of defrocking them.
The church claimed it was following the procedures set out in the “The canonical process in cases of solicitation,” but many people argued that the church was simply moving abusers around instead of taking action to protect their victims.
In 2010, the Vatican released a new set of guidelines for dealing with clergy sexual abuse, which included a section on reporting abuse to civil authorities.
However, the guidelines were not mandatory, and it was up to each individual bishop to decide whether or not to follow them.
This lack of a uniform policy has led to inconsistencies in how the Catholic Church deals with clergy sexual abuse, and it has also made it difficult for secular authorities to investigate cases of abuse.
Avoiding Scandal Under Canon Law System
Some Roman catholic church leaders who have put up with abusive priests or transferred them from one parish to another may have relied on canonical admonition to “repair a scandal.”
Under Roman Catholic church law, a scandal can be defined as a behavior or attitude that leads one to do evil or drive an individual into spiritual death.
Some church leaders might have opted to hide or tamper with evidence of child molesters in the church out of fear that the entire priesthood would lose credibility and be seen as a scandal if such allegations were to become public.
While the admonition to “repair a scandal” may have been used as a justification for hiding evidence of abuse, it is essential to note that this is not an excuse for inaction.
In fact, canon law states explicitly that if a person has committed a crime, they must be reported to the authorities, and they can be subject to punishment.
It means that, even if a bishop or other church leader is trying to avoid scandal, they are still required to take action against priests who have been accused of sexual abuse.
The Catholic Church’s canon law system has been criticized for its lack of transparency and failure to protect victims of abuse.
While the church has taken some steps to address these concerns, it is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that justice is served and that abusers are held accountable for their actions.
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