May 19, 2019 - "Vos estis lux mundi" - an Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis

Cardinal Séan O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston, is also the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.  In his most recent blog Cardinal O’Malley issued a statement to mark the publication of Vos estis lux mundi, an Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis on May 7, 2019.  After an international summit held in Rome earlier this year, Pope Francis promised that there would be “concrete measures” to respond to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Church.  Pope Francis and others consider it one means of fulfilling that promise to establish specific mandatory protocols and reporting systems for matters concerning such abuse.  I want to present Cardinal O’Malley’s remarks posted on the Archdiocese of Boston website on May 10, 2019. There he welcomed the Apostolic Letter.  I consider him a very important and trustworthy voice when he comments about the sad and painful issue facing the church in the United States and indeed over all the world.
 
Following the international summit in Rome this past February, Pope Francis pledged “concrete measures” to respond to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the United States.  Vos estis lux mundi is one means of fulfilling that pledge, establishing specific mandatory protocols and reporting mechanisms for matters concerning such abuse.
 
This document directly addresses needed improvements to the Church’s response by requiring all dioceses in every country around the globe, within one year’s time, to establish a public, accessible and reliable system for reporting crimes of clergy sexual abuse and any cover up of abuse.  It also requires the establishment of new procedural norms for investigating crimes by bishops and supreme moderators of religious institutes, including both allegations of sexual abuse and any cover up by way of actions or omissions intended to conceal information or to interfere with investigations.
 
These new norms address the sexual abuse of minors and they also expand the definition of the “vulnerable persons” who suffer abuse.  But it is also quite significant that Vos estis lux mundi includes adults who suffer offenses through violence or intimidation or the abuse of authority.  People who suffer abuse from those in positions of authority can include, for example, seminarians and religious.
 
It is notable and of great importance that the new provisions require that information be given to the victim of an alleged offense regarding investigations and, further, that the Holy Father places particular emphasis on lay persons participating in the investigations.
 
During the past year it has become far more clear that the people of the Church and our wider society rightfully demand substantive action for disclosure, transparency, and accountability with regard to any occurrence of sexual abuse, or intimidation, or cover up in the life of the Church and that that all Church personnel, regardless of office, be subject to the same policies, procedures and sanctions.  Vos estis lux mundi is an important and substantive response to that demand.  I am grateful to the Holy Father for his recognition of the critical need for these new policies and his action to as best possible assure the protection of all the people we serve throughout the world.

You can access the text of Cardinal’s Séan’s blot at:  http://www.cardinalseansblog.com.  You want to look for the May 10, 2019 entry “Celebrating confirmations.”  The Archdiocese of Washington has prepared a fact sheet of questions and answers regarding Pope Francis’s Motu Proprio Vos estis lux mundi.  I list a couple of the questions and answers in the remainder of this column.  I’ll go over the rest of the questions in next week’s column.
 
1)     What does the new Motu Proprio do?  The new Motu Proprio Vos estis lux mundi is a significant move forward for the universal Church, one that echoes many of the practices established in the Essential Norms and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that have been in force in the United States since 2002.  For example it affirms the existing:
· Commitment to provide for the spiritual and emotional well-being of victims/survivors and their families;
· Duty to comply with all applicable civil laws with respect to the reporting of allegations and sexual abuse of minors to civil authorities;
· Right of any person to report such crimes;
· Guarantee of a prompt and objective investigation;
· Assurance of lay involvement.
2) The Motu Proprio also continues to focus on victims by significantly building upon existing local practices, for example by expanding:
· The scope of case to include:
- The sexual abuse of a new classifica- tion of “vulnerable persons,”
- The use of violence or other abuse of power to perform or submit to sexual acts,
- Any cover up of such conduct by others;
· Those who are to be reported for such cases, namely, cardinals, bishops, other clerics, religious superiors, and other members of institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life;
· Reporting obligations to include mandatory, internal reporting;
· Safeguards against retaliation or discrimination by mandating “whistle-blower” protection.
Until next week,
Fr. John