Kurt Martens, professor, canon law, was quoted in CNN, and Catholic News Service about the new rules on reporting sexual abuse to Church authorities recently made by Pope Francis. He also published commentary in America Magazine, and Our Sunday Visitor on the new rules.
..."The new law offers whistle blower protections for all victim reporters and requires that every diocese in the world have publicly accessible ways to report abuse," Martens tweeted. "That is simply revolutionary."...
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..."We cannot rest. We must embrace and implement," this document, he said, adding that the pope reminds Catholic leaders that they should not "merely treat this as technical positive law, but this must be accompanied by a full ecclesial spirit, common purpose and conversion."...
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...This new law is without a doubt a rare gift to the entire church and sets, along with the companion Vatican law providing for jail time for any public official of the Vatican who fails to report abuse, an unmistakable new course. The painful, sometimes bitter, experience of the church in the United States and the voices of the faithful worldwide have helped bring about a change in attitude and a change in law. There is no turning back now, and the tone has been set for the future...
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...That the new legislation has come just months following the February summit at the Vatican represents, in itself, a groundbreaking speed record for producing legislation of such significance. Pope Francis gets the credit for this: He has now raised hopes and expectations and has placed beyond cavil that he is serious about addressing the crisis not only with words, but also with concrete actions...
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