OSV NEWS ─ The expansion of the Catholic Church's safe environment protections ─ which in the U.S. were first implemented in 2002 for children and young people ─ to adults remains a far from complete process, experts previously told OSV News.
Pope Francis' motu proprio "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" ("You are the light of the world") included the term "vulnerable person," later updated to "vulnerable adults," defined as "any person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want or otherwise resist the offense."
But many Church jurisdictions have yet to adopt the clear standard set by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a key figure in the Church's fight against clergy sexual abuse, for the Maltese Ecclesiastical Province. The archbishop of Malta also is adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Those 2014 directives make clear that sexual contact or sexualized behavior between a "pastoral functionary" -- including any bishop, cleric, religious or layperson -- and adults in a pastoral relationship "is considered to be always abusive, whether with or without consent."
Those directives recognize the clergy are responsible for maintaining boundaries in their pastoral relationships, and prohibit a defense alleging the sexual relationship was consensual.
But states are moving ahead with this insight to tackle it through the criminal code. Texas is among 15 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia -- most recently joined by Georgia -- with laws on the books that criminalize clergy sexual conduct with adults under their spiritual or pastoral care whom they are not married to. They are similar to laws prohibiting therapists and counselors from engaging in sex with their patients, who are presumed to not be able to consent to such encounters.
While these laws are "a positive and important step" toward enhanced accountability and protection, "legislation alone cannot address the full depth of the harm survivors experience, nor fully repair the wounds already caused," said Rebecca Dodge, survivor support and engagement coordinator for Awake, an independent, Milwaukee-based Catholic nonprofit that provides survivor support and advocacy, told OSV News.
"We must continue listening to survivors, seeking education around abuse dynamics and trauma-informed support, and working toward meaningful institutional reform in order to foster lasting healing and transformation," she said.
