Will the tribunals be effective in curbing and punishing abuse?
Pope Francis, the Pope of Popes, has announced the Vatican will, at long last, be taking serious steps to
punish those who cover up:
Pope Francis has approved the creation of a tribunal to hear cases of bishops accused of covering up child abuse by paedophile priests.
The unprecedented move followed a recommendation from the Pope's newly created panel on clerical sex abuse.
The tribunal will have the power to punish bishops who failed to protect young victims.
It seems like a good step forward, but SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Preists) isn't so certain it will
create the change they are looking for:
At best, most church abuse panels have been ineffective distractions. At worst, they’ve been manipulative public relations moves We suspect this new one won’t make a difference either.
Throughout this decades-long crisis, church panels, procedures, protocols and promises have been plentiful. They’ve also been irrelevant. As long as clerics are in charge of dealing with other clerics who commit and conceal child sex crimes, little will change.
Church officials should join us in reforming secular abuse laws so that clerics who hurt kids and hide predators will be criminally charged. If that happens, we'll be encouraged.
The jury, or in this case—the tribunal—is still out. Only time will tell.