Pope Francis has reformed Book VI of the Code of Canon Law on criminal sanctions in the (Catholic) Church and has introduced pedophilia as a crime against the dignity of people, the Vatican reported on Tuesday..

One of the key points of this modification is the reference to pedophilia as “a crime against human dignity” and that can lead to expulsion from the clerical state..

This is specified in article 1398, which says that “the cleric” who “commits a crime against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue with a minor or with a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason or to whom the law recognizes equal protection”.

Also who “recruits or induces a minor, or a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason, or to whom the law recognizes equal protection, to expose themselves pornographically or to participate in pornographic exhibitions, both true and simulated”.

And whoever “immorally acquires, preserves, exhibits or discloses, in any form and with any instrument, pornographic images of minors or of people who habitually have an imperfect use of reason”.

Book VI is one of the seven that make up the Code of Canon Law and its modification will come into force on December 8.

“In order to adequately respond to the demands of the (Catholic) Church throughout the world, it was evident the need to also review the penal discipline promulgated by Saint John Paul II, on January 25, 1983, with the Code of Canon Law,” he explained. the pontiff.

The revision work began in 2007 with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and now concludes with a text that “introduces changes of various kinds in the current law and sanctions some new criminal figures”, in the words of Francisco.

It has also been improved “from a technical point of view, especially with regard to fundamental aspects of criminal law, such as the right to defense, the prescription of criminal action, a more precise determination of penalties”.

Now “objective criteria are offered to identify the most appropriate penalty to apply in the specific case”, reducing the discretion of the authority, to favor ecclesial unity in the application of penalties, “especially for crimes that cause the greatest damage and scandal in the community”, adds the pontiff.

The president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Filippo Iannone, stressed that the presence in the communities of some irregular situations and the recent scandals, derived from cases of pedophilia, have led to revitalizing canonical criminal law, integrating it with timely legislative reforms.

The crimes typified in recent years in special laws are incorporated into the Code, such as the attempted ordination of women, the registration of confessions and the Eucharistic consecration for sacrilegious purposes..

Repair and compensation for damages

Also some cases present in the Codex of 1917 that were not accepted in 1983, such as corruption in official acts, the administration of sacraments to subjects to whom they cannot be administered, the concealment of any irregularity or censorship from the legitimate authority. receiving holy orders.

To all of them, some new cases are added, such as the violation of pontifical secrecy, the omission of the obligation to execute a criminal sentence or decree, or the omission of the obligation to notify the commission of a crime..

The text contains an adequate determination of criminal laws that did not exist before, in order to give a precise and safe indication to those who must apply them..

Offenses are better specified, those that were previously grouped are distinguished, sanctions are exhaustively listed, and benchmarks are detailed throughout to guide the assessments of those who have to judge the specific circumstances..

The approved modification seeks to protect the community and pay greater attention to the repair of the scandal and compensation for damages, but also to have the necessary means to prevent crimes, and to be able to intervene in time to correct situations that could worsen, according to the Vatican.

The possibility of applying the penalty of suspension to all the faithful has been established, and no longer only to the clergy, and the limitation period for crimes has also been changed, in order to favor the conclusion of the processes in a reasonably time short.