Abuse and torture victims still waiting for government redress
A man who survived torture as a teenager at the notorious Lake Alice psychiatric facility in the 1970s and had to go to the UN in his efforts to gain…
The sexual harm helpline can be accessed free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, text, website, online chat and email.
Potential employees of the Vatican will now also undergo a special screening process to ensure they are fit to work with children.
“The Holy Father hopes that thanks to these norms which pertain to Vatican City State and the Roman Curia, everyone might develop in their awareness that the church must always be ever increasingly a safe home for children and vulnerable persons,” Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in a statement.
In 2013, Francis updated the Vatican City’s laws to include criminalizing sexual violence against minors. This is the first time, however, that the Vatican has created a comprehensive and specific set of procedures and laws to follow regarding child sexual abuse for the Vatican City State and its offices abroad.
About 800 people live in Vatican City, and some 450 have Vatican citizenship, according to the Vatican. An estimated 5,000 priests, nuns and laypeople work for the Vatican in Rome and in its embassies abroad.
The new laws go into effect on June 1.
By Delia Gallagher
Published in CNN
29 March 2019