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Pope Francis enables removal of bishops for negligence on abuse

Marie - IT Feb 2016 - cropped

Marie Collins – hopeful but waiting to see ‘bishop accountability’ proven by events

“Francis gives Vatican authority to initiate removal of bishops negligent on sexual abuse”

So reads the headline of an NCR report of a Vatican announcement that Pope Francis has given authority to four different Vatican departments to remove a bishop (or head of a religious order or institution) who has been negligent in dealing with credible allegations of clerical sexual abuse of children or vulnerable adults.

Marie Collins, a member of Francis’ Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told NCR she welcomes the new procedures and “hope they will succeed in bringing the accountability survivors have waited for so long.”

“The most important aspect of any new procedure is its implementation and that is what we must wait to see,” she said.

The US-centred abuse survivors network SNAP is less hopeful:  “A ‘process’ is helpful only if it’s used often enough to deter wrongdoing. We doubt this one will be.”

Click here for NCR report on Pope’s decision on removal of a negligent bishop or head of religious order by four Vatican departments.

Click here for NCR article: ‘Pope’s move to oust bishops negligent on sexual abuse gets mixed reviews’ by Joshua McElwee