Pope Francis established legal procedures to remove bishops who area negligent when handling sexual abuse cases. However, procedures already exist in canonical law that provide for the ousting of bishops. Effectively, the Pope has done nothing new, if one looks at this decision from a purely technical standpoint. The code allows for bishops to be removed for ‘grave reasons’. However, ‘grave reasons’ is quite vague. By now establishing these legal procedures, Pope Francis has included negligence to resolve sexual abuse cases as one of the ‘grave reasons’
The world over, the Church and its representatives are being accused of sexual abuse, particularly towards minors. Although the Church has shied away from openly acknowledging this in the past, Pope Francis has now brought this issue into the limelight. This decision has not really appeased victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, who claim that this is just window dressing. They say that the laws have existed, and the Pope’s decision papers over the cracks, because the laws are not used against erring clergy members.
The Church has to be more open to change. Pope Francis has been the biggest agent of change in recent times, but this issue is the biggest hurdle that the Church will have to cross in modern history.
