Pope Francis Announces Canon Law Revisions

Vatican-issued revisions to the Code of Canon Law have tightened up clerical sexual abuse penalties, are holding lay men and women responsible for their own inappropriate behavior and have also addressed the recent development of an increasing number of women allegedly claiming they have been ordained priests, which could be considered canonically criminal.

 Pope Francis announced the revisions in apostolic constitution “Pascite gregem Dei,” (“Tend the Flock of God”), released June 1. These revisions to Book VI of the Code are the most significant changes to the legal framework of the Catholic Church since 1983. 

The changes are scheduled to take effect Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

“My first impression on reading (the changes) it is a good, synthetic improvement on the penal law of the church,” said Father Paul Counce, judicial vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. “It incorporates all of the practical changes that have arisen since 1983, chief among these have been developments occasioned by the sex abuse crisis in the church.”

“But there are no groundbreaking changes that should make anyone hugely disappointed or tremendously encouraged,” he noted. “We have a revised part of the Code of Canon Law on penal matters but we are still not tremendously experienced at making use of it. It will be easier to make use of it now.”

Regarding sexual abuse Father Counce said “very little” has changed “because (the revisions) simply codified what has been added to the code over the past 30 years. That’s what this was.”

He explained that the experiences of the past 30 years have taught what initially came out in the Code of Canon Law was a “little bit impractical,” namely that sexual abuse of minors is a crime but it “did not look at it with the seriousness that we know now.”

“When the code came out in 1983, very few people thought its section on penal law would ever be used very much,” he said. “Wrong! The past 30 years have shown where it has been practical, where the contradictions in the law were placed, what should have been included and what wasn’t included. All of these things are improved.”

Accountability among bishops is perhaps one of the more significant changes. Father Counce said the revisions  make it “explicit” what bishops must now use penal law (when learning of abuse issues in their diocese) or the bishops themselves are liable for negligence or malfeasance. He explained the code now says “must” rather than “should” when reporting abuse issues.

“My first impression on reading (the changes) it is a good, synthetic improvement on the penal law of the church,” said Father Paul Counce, judicial vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. “It incorporates all of the practical changes that have arisen since 1983, chief among these have been developments occasioned by the sex abuse crisis in the church.”
Father Paul Counce

“It is clear, (bishops) must put this part of the code into practice,” he said. “They no longer have discretion to sweep this under the rug. They have to use the law of the church to investigate and punish if it is proven.”

The revisions also include provisions stating that lay adult men and women, and that includes men and women religious, can be punished with ecclesiastical process and penalties for sexual abuse.  Father Counce said that was previously implied but not “explicit.”

He said the “modernization” of Book VI is making it more explicit and using more precise language regarding abuse, including what is meant by use of the word abuse. He pointed out that negligence is abuse and that a minor can be abused in non-sexual ways. 

The revisions to the penal law of the code also clarifies that it’s not just clergy who can offend but also lay people, “because of your position or office in the church, when there is inequality, pressure from superior to inferior, boss to the flock,” Father Counce said.

“The most novel change, in my mind, is that the approach to penal laws regarding crime and punishment in the Church have changed somewhat,” said Father Jamin David, episcopal vicar for the diocese. “For one, notice that the changes are addressed specifically to the pastors of the church  the bishops.  Pope Francis is attempting, I believe, to let pastors know that they have a duty to perform in their application of the law, and he squarely puts that responsibility at a local level.”

The revisions also address a relatively recent development in the church of a growing number of women claiming they have been ordained as priests or also the unauthorized ordination of deacons. A 2007 decree issued by the Vatican’s doctrine office said that a priest attempting to ordain a woman and a woman willfully attempting to receive the sacrament of holy orders “should” be immediately excommunicated. 

Now, that decree is incorporated into church law.

“This is not really new but it now makes it explicit,” Father Counce said. “If a person is guilty of this, they must be punished. The process has not really changed that much but there is a responsibility on bishops to use this part of the law.”

Father David said Pope Francis is attempting to remind the church that law is not an obstacle to pastoral governance but is absolutely necessary in legitimate oversight. He said by changing the content and framework of Book VI, he is providing the church’s leaders a revised, healthy and corrective instrument to heal the wounds that are often caused by human weakness.
 

“In order for these changes to be worth more than the paper they are written upon, implementation will be essential.  Over the next months before the law takes effect, there will be many questions and clarifications that will be important to guide bishops in understanding how any substantive changes affect real-life application,” he added.

Father Counce reiterated that the revisions tighten up areas that were not clearly expressed and added that it’s probably not perfect yet.

“No human construct ever is,” he said. “We’ll know in a few years if it has any significant effect.”