[AFP]Pope Francis updated the Catholic Church’s criminal code Tuesday, adding directives on punishing sexual abuse crimes of minors by priests that have long been sought by activists against paedophilia. Revision of the penal sanctions within the Code of Canon Law followed a lengthy process involving input from canonist and criminal law experts and came after repeated complaints by victims of sexual abuse and others that the code’s previous wording was outdated and intransparent. The new code falls short of explicitly spelling out sexual offences against minors yet refers to offences against the sixth commandment, which prohibits adultery. Need for justiceOne aim of the revision, wrote Francis, was to reduce the number of penalties left to the discretion of judges, especially in the most serious cases. Other technical improvements related to “the right of defence, the statute of limitations for criminal action, a more precise determination of penalties,” added Francis.

Source: Standard Digital June 01, 2021 12:56 UTC