Pope Francis recently issued a new rule obligating all Catholic priests and nuns to report incidents of sex abuse - and any attempts to cover it up - to church authorities.
The Beau Biden Foundation, which works locally to help prevent child abuse, is reacting to the Pope’s move with skepticism.
The foundation’s executive director Patty Dailey Lewis says she hates to “slap down” someone - in this case the Pope - who believes they are taking an important step in protecting children.
“To the extent that it’s better than it was - that’s great. The fact of the matter is though, that we have statutes in every state in the U.S. and many nations around the world require the reporting of child abuse.”
NPR reported last week that "the new regulations do not require church faithful to report abuses or cover-ups to law enforcement.”
Dailey Lewis says that's a key point.
“What really would have been the ground-breaking step is to have said you are subjected to all civil laws regarding the abuse of children and you will be a mandatory reporter, which means you will make a report to the appropriate authorities.”
The new church rule takes effect June 1, 2019.
