Pope Francis has revamped the Vatican criminal code, extending it to apply to employees of the Holy See anywhere in the world.
The revised code includes provisions covering the theft and publication of confidential documents and money-laundering, and provides for the freezing of financial assets.
It also strengthens provisions against child abuse, specifying that Vatican prosecutors can proceed with an abuse case even without a formal complaint from the victim.
The code provides for co-operation with other nations in the pursuit of white-collar criminals.
Explaining the need to revise the code, Pope Francis noted that “the common good is increasingly threatened by transnational organised crime, the improper use of the markets and of the economy, as well as by terrorism”.
While the strengthened code applies only within the Vatican City state, it appears to be meant to demonstrate that the Pope is taking seriously the various scandals that have hit the Vatican recently and aims to align Church policy with international legal standards.
The new code incorporates the provisions of numerous international conventions to which the Holy See is a signatory. These cover the conduct of war and war crimes, the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the rights of children.
The new Vatican laws make it much easier for the Vatican to co-operate with other governments and even extradite a person who committed the crime elsewhere, but tries to hide in the Vatican.
The possibility of extradition also explains why the new laws include crimes against the security of airports, maritime navigation or oil-drilling platforms, even though the Vatican has no airport, ships or fixed platforms in the sea.
The changes to Vatican City civil law are separate from the universally applicable canon law, norms and sanctions, which require bishops around the world to turn over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cases of priests accused of child sexual abuse or possession of child pornography.
Sources:
Image: Daily Mail
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