mo4ch:>Pope issues sweeping reforms to combat church-related sexual abuse & cover-ups | Mo4ch News

The Vatican has issued new universal norms for handling sexual abuse cases, designed to protect victims and hold bishops accountable for cover-ups. Every diocese will now be required to have a transparent reporting system.The Pope’s declaration, ostentatiously titled ‘Vos estis lux mundi’ (you are the light of the world), will require an accessible and simple system for reporting abuse in every diocese. The new rules go into effect on June 1 2020 on a three-year experimental basis.“The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,” he wrote, assigning bishops the central role in handling such cases.Thursday’s announcement is the most sweeping measure taken by the church to date in order to combat widespread accusations of sexual abuse. On top of requiring the allegations to be promptly reported to church higher-ups, it mandates mechanisms be in place to investigate all reported sex crim…