DHAKA: Pope Francis has created a new Vatican tribunal section to hear cases of bishops who fail to protect children from sexually abusive priests.
The announcement came years after victims groups started urging the Vatican to establish clear procedures to make bishops more accountable for abuse in their dioceses, even if they were not directly responsible for it.
Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said that the bishops could also be judged if they had failed to take measures to prevent sexual abuse of minors, reports the Aljazeera.
The complaints against the bishops would be initially investigated by one of three Vatican departments, depending on under whose jurisdiction the bishops’ fall, before being judged by the doctrinal department.
The Vatican said the pope had approved proposals made to him by a commission advising him on how to root out sexual abuse of children.
Last February, Francis ordered bishops the world over to cooperate as a matter of priority with the commission to root out ‘the scourge’ of the sexual abuse even if it unearths new scandals.
BDST: 0931 HRS, JUNE 11, 2015
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