Scicluna, who was dubbed "promotor of justice," worked directly under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

"He carried out this role very differently to others, both within the Vatican and outside," said Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a journalist from the independent online newspaper Linkiesta.

"With determination, humanity and without diplomatic hesitation... the Maltese prelate had shown himself, in all these years, to have been a great man," Scaramuzzi was quoted in a report in Malta Today.

Andrea Tornelli of La Stampa said Scicluna "embodied the line of zero tolerance of sexual abuse against minors, adopted by Benedict XVI and supported the Pope's efforts to change canonical laws and existing laws and above all, the mentality: he placed special emphasis on the suffering of abuse victims and promulgated a series of 'emergency' laws.

"Not surprisingly, these special laws sparked an internal debate in the Holy See," Torneilli was quoted as saying.

The report said "a grand career" in the Vatican appears to have been "somewhat punctured" by his appointment as auxiliary bishop of Malta.

Sources

• Malta Today
• AP/Washington Post
• Image: Malta Today

Monsignor Charles Scicluna said bishops' conferences in Africa have lagged behind — because they face other urgent problems — but guidelines have been submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from most other parts of the world.

The Vatican had asked for guidelines on preventing sex abuse and the handling of complaints, to ensure compliance with canon law and local laws in different countries.

"The number of responses received from the Anglo-Saxon world is encouraging, but a high number of responses were also noted from Europe, Asia and Latin America," Monsignor Scicluna told the monthly magazine Jesus.

He said it will take at least a year to evaluate all texts submitted by episcopal conferences and offer suggestions for points that need to be added or revisions that need to be made.

"Regarding bishops' conferences' relations with state authorities, if the former refers to state law exclusively in relation to the safeguarding of the Church's autonomy, a detailed description of how the crime of sexual abuse is interpreted by the law of the state in question will need to be provided.

"The guidelines will also need to specify, in full adherence to state law, that the Church strives to never try to dissuade victims from their right to report a crime to the state. It is good to make this commitment explicit in order to have a more complete and just framework," said Monsignor Scicluna.

He added: "People need pastors to be vigilant; this is a battle against sin and against crime. And we cannot be defeated in this battle: the innocence of our children and young people is too precious a treasure for the Church."

Source:

Vatican Insider

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