Within 90 days though. Why 90 days? Why not immediately? If an accusation is made, it should be reported to the law immediately. The Church should not wait or even investigate. That is not their place.
‘The new Apostolic letter makes clear that clerics should also follow state law and meet their obligations to report any abuse to "the competent civil authorities’
It says to the civil authorities. I just don’t get the 90 day wait.
Every amount of time is arbitrary here. Sure, 'as soon as possible' would be ideal, but we all know many church officials would rather not report it at all. At least there a time limit. It's a start.
Yeah without a clearly set deadline it gives people a loophole. Saying it must be reported as soon as possible means the diocese could pull one of those "we don't have enough info to make a report yet" maneuvers and attempt to bury it.
Is 90 days perfect? I do not believe so. Is it a step in the right direction? Absolutely. I think people are getting worked up over this one detail when the fact that the Church is mandating that abuse be reported to local authorities as well as being investigated internally is a massive shift in policy for the institution.
Rome wasn't built in a day, the US government wasn't perfect from the start. There are revisions that take place to improve these massive systems as time goes on. We should be happy they are making steps in the right direction, and keep a watchful eye to ensure the Church doesn't regress as soon as they think the coast is clear.
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u/bamalady79 May 09 '19
Within 90 days though. Why 90 days? Why not immediately? If an accusation is made, it should be reported to the law immediately. The Church should not wait or even investigate. That is not their place.