At the suggestion of Pope Leo, representatives of the international organization Ending Clergy Abuse held their first structured dialogue with members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Discussions “focused on victims’ rights, institutional responsibility, justice, and mandatory safeguarding principles grounded in lived experience,” according to the pontifical commission.
According to the pontifical commission, Ending Clergy Abuse called for the “adoption of a universal zero-tolerance canon law on clergy abuse, modelled on existing Vatican-approved norms in the United States.” The pontifical commission, in turn, agreed to continue dialogue on the proposal.
The revised Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope Francis in 2021, provides for a range of penalties for clerics who sexually abuse minors, from deprivation of office to dismissal from the clerical state (Canon 1398). Book VI, however, does not permanently bar all clerics who sexually abuse minors from active ministry, as has been the case in the United States since 2002.