Secularization: A Response from Canon Law Based on the Concept of the “Church on the Move” and Cooperation with the Civil Order in Cases of Abuse of Minors by Priests
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have noted with pleasure that, as a canonist, you have responded to Pope Francis initiative on the cooperation of church and state authorities in cases of sexual abuse of minors by clergy, and I congratulate you for understanding that the Pope's call for the Church to step out of its comfort zone and be an active and transformative presence in the world. Of course, it also remains to be seen whether the Pope's decision to abolish pontifical secrecy regarding denunciations, testimonies and trial documents in such cases becomes a reality, because only then can we speak of transparency and loyal and sincere cooperation with representatives of civil authorities.
I suggest, however, that in your paper you should not give the impression that these kinds of abuses have been facilitated or sustained by the process of secularization, secularization, anticlericalism, etc., and to continue to have the courage to reveal the real causes ...
I recommend that you should also investigate the Vatican's secret fund in order to bring to light these real aspects of the issue and not to remain on the threshold of good intentions or under the impact of the euphoria produced by Pope Francis' Encyclical. Undoubtedly, the procedural cases in Spain remain illustrative, but they are not enough; you must also have a term of comparison, that is to say, to represent exponential cases in other local Catholic Churches. Finally, it would be desirable to restructure the content of the paper and present a new text of the Conclusions, from which the response of canon law on how the two authorities should be involved and collaborate would be much clearer and edifying.
Author Response
Response to reviewer 1
First of all, I would like to thank the reviewer for his words and suggestions. I understand that he suggests three points that I should consider in my work, which I will now discuss:
Comments 1. [to continue to have the courage to reveal the real causes.]
Response 1: Following the reviewer's recommendations, I proceed to analyse other possible causes of sexual abuse, not only secularisation, for which I add section 2.4:
2.4. Secularisation and sexual abuse of minors within the Church.
One of the areas where secularisation has had a major impact on the Church has been in the area of sexual abuse of minors by priests. Pope Benedict XVI (2019) pointed out the repercussions of the May ‘68 revolution in both sexual and moral matters. In the words of the pontiff, ‘one of the conquests that this revolution sought was total sexual freedom without any kind of norm. Part of the physiognomy of this revolutionary process was that paedophilia was also diagnosed as permissible and appropriate. The thesis was imposed that morality was to be determined solely on the basis of the purpose of human action. Consequently, there could no longer be anything that was simply good, nor anything that was always bad, but only relative evaluations’. This new way of understanding sexuality and morality permeated all areas of the Church, even reaching the seminaries, where a climate was being created that was not at all suitable for the formation of future priests.
While this reality is clear, it cannot be ignored that sexual abuse of minors by priests is marked by various causes that go beyond the mere secularisation of society and its effects on the Church. One of these causes is the marked clericalism that exists, which Pope Francis (2018) himself describes as ‘an attitude that not only nullifies the personality of Christians, but also has a tendency to diminish and devalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit placed in the hearts of the faithful’. Clericalism creates a division in the ecclesial body that has helped to perpetuate the abuse of power in various areas, including the sexual abuse of minors. This abuse of power is most evident when it is committed against minors, especially if we take into account that ‘the cleric is placed in a position of prevalence, in the face of a limited capacity for reaction on the part of the victim, who remains extremely perplexed and bewildered’ (Conway 2020).
Another alleged cause has been compulsory priestly celibacy. Some authors argue that abstaining from any sexual activity may generate psychological and sexual tensions in those who practice it (Plante 2004), or that sexual repression, combined with a formation that idealises chastity, may contribute to the development of deviant behaviour in some individuals (Sipe 1995). However, it should be noted that most cases of paedophilia are the result of psychological perversions, prior to a celibate choice. If there is a paedophile priest, it is because he has been perverted before he was ordained, and celibacy does not cure that perversion. What is absolutely necessary is thorough discernment in the selection of candidates for the priesthood (Rubin and Ambrogetti 2010). Moreover, sexual assaults among married ministers of other Christian denominations are overwhelmingly higher than among celibate priests (Jenkins 1996).
A related issue is the inadequate training in sex education that many priests receive during their preparation. The lack of a healthy understanding of sexuality may contribute to confusion and deviance in the sexual behaviour of some priests (Plante 2004). Instead of addressing sexuality in an open and educational manner, many seminaries and clerical formation programmes tend to treat the topic with secrecy and repression, which may predispose some priests to abusive behaviour.
Comments 2: [I recommend that you should also investigate the Vatican's secret fund in order to bring to light these real aspects of the issue and not to remain on the threshold of good intentions.]
Response 2: Following the reviewer's indications, I have added the following content at the end of section 3.4:
Despite this, it cannot be denied that Pope Francis' initiative to abolish the pontifical secret, in order to favour both the clarification of cases of abuse of minors in the Church and collaboration with the civil authorities in the matter, is more theoretical than practical. In countries such as France and Chile, for example, the suppression of pontifical secrecy has allowed access to church archives by independent commissions or judicial authorities. For example, in the Sauvé Report in France (2021), which documented decades of sexual abuse, the Church provided access to its internal archives, which was crucial for the enquiry to get a clear picture of the extent of abuse. In Chile, the church also handed over documents and evidence previously protected by pontifical secrecy, which facilitated the investigation of cases such as that of priest Fernando Karadima. However, globally, the Church operates with a decentralised hierarchy, which has led to some dioceses or bishops' conferences not uniformly applying the mandate to share information with civil authorities, especially in countries where religious authorities still enjoy broad legal autonomy from state regulations.
Comments 3: [Undoubtedly, the procedural cases in Spain remain illustrative, but they are not enough; you must also have a term of comparison, that is to say, to represent exponential cases in other local Catholic Churches.]
Response 3: I am grateful for the reviewer's consideration, but I do allude to the statistics on abuse cases in other countries in table 5. However, I extend the citation of other countries and briefly explain the conclusions derived from them, in order to enrich the content in this area:
In addition to adding two more countries to the table (Germany and Ireland), the following text has been added:
Sexual abuse of minors by priests has been studied in several countries around the world. The data offered in the table, and revealed by different reports that came to light when the pederasty scandal in the Church was exposed, allude to the fact that in most of the dioceses where child abuse took place, the Catholic Church tried to prioritise the prestige of the institution over the suffering of the victims, For many years, it followed a policy of secrecy and cover-up, where the only measure to be taken in the face of such serious acts consisted of transferring the priest to a different parish, without any other ecclesiastical or criminal sanction, which allowed many of them to continue with the practice of child abuse.
Comments 4: [Finally, it would be desirable to present a new text of the Conclusions, from which the response of canon law on how the two authorities should be involved and collaborate would be much clearer and edifying.]
Response 4: Following the reviewer's indications, I have added several paragraphs to complete the conclusions of the work:
Church law, influenced by the recent papacies of Benedict XVI and Francis, has undergone a shift towards greater openness and cooperation with civil legal systems, seeking not only punishment for the guilty, but also justice for the victims. In many countries, including Spain, measures have been implemented that oblige church authorities to inform judicial authorities of sexual crimes committed by members of the clergy. This change is essential to ensure that perpetrators are punished according to state law, in addition to any ecclesiastical sanctions they may face.
One of the aspects that has helped this collaboration has been the suppression of pontifical secrecy in cases of sexual abuse, which has made it easier for the information contained in ecclesiastical archives to be shared with the civil authorities for the investigation and prosecution of those responsible, although, as we have explained, this is a reality which, beyond good intentions, has not yet, with some exceptions, been firmly applied in the practice of the dioceses. Although canon law remains an autonomous legal system within the Church, it has shown flexibility in aligning itself with civil norms to avoid the cover-up of these crimes. In fact, the ecclesial legislative scope has expanded to include offences such as possession of child pornography, the equating of adults but vulnerable persons to minors, or the promotion of restorative justice, through which, in addition to punishment, it seeks to heal emotionally and spiritually both the victims themselves and the perpetrators.
However, despite progress, collaboration between ecclesiastical and civil jurisdictions is not without its challenges. Canon law still faces limitations when it comes to reconciling its internal principles with those of civil law, especially on issues of exclusive jurisdiction and confessional secrecy. However, important steps have been taken towards a balance in cooperation, respecting both civil rights and religious principles, in line with the reforms pushed by Pope Francis, and in order to ensure a more just and effective prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors The contribution focuses on the interplay between canon law and civil law with regard to the devastating problem of clergy sexual abuse on minors, with a view to exploring the path of cooperation between the Catholic Church and the States. It focuses on the approach adopted by the last three Popes, with specific regard to Pope Francis idea of a "Church on the move", with specific regard to the Spanish legal, cultural and religious landscape.The paper shows a good level of originality and offers a significant contribution to the research on the issue of clergy sexual abuses, as it emphasizes the need for a church-state cooperation to face such a crisis, in the respect of church autonomy and state jurisdiction, and suggests concrete ways to implement such a cooperation.
The paper is well written and easy to read for an Italian. The conclusions are consistent with the arguments and the evidence presented and they fully address the main question.
Provided that I'm not a native speaker, may I suggest an English editing? Some words sound as a translation from Italian, i.e. "configuration", "confess", but please feel free to consider this a mere opinion of mine.
Author Response
Response to reviewer 2
First of all, I would like to thank the reviewer for his words and suggestions. I understand that he suggests three points that I should consider in my work, which I will now discuss:
Comments 1. [The contribution focuses on the interplay between canon law and civil law with regard to the devastating problem of clergy sexual abuse on minors, with a view to exploring the path of cooperation between the Catholic Church and the States. It focuses on the approach adopted by the last three Popes, with specific regard to Pope Francis idea of a "Church on the move", with specific regard to the Spanish legal, cultural and religious landscape. The paper shows a good level of originality and offers a significant contribution to the research on the issue of clergy sexual abuses, as it emphasizes the need for a church-state cooperation to face such a crisis, in the respect of church autonomy and state jurisdiction, and suggests concrete ways to implement such a cooperation. The paper is well written and easy to read for an Italian. The conclusions are consistent with the arguments and the evidence presented and they fully address the main question.]
Response 1: I greatly appreciate the comments made by the reviewer.
