It is two years since the original step-by-step guide was released.

Called "Version 2.0", the updated guidelines provide a new section of the Code of Canon Law dealing with crimes and punishments in the Church.

"Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church" went into effect last December and was the result of almost two decades of work which clarifies, updates, adds and strengthens the Code's list of crimes and provisions available for sanctioning the guilty.

As a step-by-step guide, the "Vademecum on certain points of procedure in treating cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics" was updated to include references to the revised canons.

The dicastery says the text "does not have the force of law". Rather, "it is intended to meet a growing need for knowledge" about the procedures to be followed when accusations of abuse are made.

The Vademecum's revision also reflects contributions from "academic centres and studies in the field that have come in the last two years," as well as suggestions made by those who work with victims and survivors of abuse, the dicastery says.

The changes are minor ones, however.

Specific changes

New reference numbers have been provided for many of the canons.

All instances of the word "congregation" have been changed to "dicastery" in accordance with the pope's reform of the Roman Curia.

The original 2020 guidelines included a statement saying "The anonymity of the source should not automatically lead to considering the report as false".

The updated guidelines repeat and expand the guidelines to add "... especially when it is accompanied by documentation that attests to the likelihood of a delict".

The updated "Norms regarding delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" published in October 2021 have also been tweaked.

It is no longer simply advisable for an accused cleric to be assisted by a lawyer or advocate. That is now mandatory. The accused can choose his own counsel or one will be appointed for him.

Source

• CruxNow

Doyle, whose father was a priest, is a member of Coping International, an organisation that campaigns for the rights of priests' children.

Although the guidelines are not new, they have been secret until now.

Last year the secrecy around them changed when the Congregation for the Clergy said it was happy to send them to any Bishop's conference that requested them.

This development followed a meeting between Mgr Andrea Ripa, Undersecretary for the Congregation, and Doyle.

Coping International and the Congregation for the Clergy then cooperated over their release.

Doyle says he is "delighted" with the release.

He says it represents represent an important step towards transparency on the part of the Vatican and adds weight to the prioritisation of the natural rights of the child to know his or her parents.

Previously, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy between 2006 and 2010, emphasised the obligation to equal treatment on the part of the children of the ordained had to outweigh any other interests.

Hummes said this was also the opinion of Pope Benedict XVI during his time in office.

Ripa indicated during discussions with Doyle that it would be possible for a priest to remain in ministry, having fathered a child.

He said whether this would occur would be subject to two other considerations.

One is the priest's suitability for ministry and the other concentrates on the good of the child. This represents a significant change in the attitude of the Vatican regarding such situations.

Given Ripa's comments that it would not be "impossible" for priests to continue in their ministry after fathering a child, Doyle pointed to the recent suggestion of the ordination of "viri probati" as priests could provide a "remedy" for "procreative breaches in celibacy".

If this were the case, it would remove the clash of vocations that has previously led to children being raised without knowledge of their father, or in secret.

Source

• The Tablet UK
• Image: The Irish Times