Italian bishops do not have the
"legal obligation" to report cases of child-sex abuse by priests
to the judicial authorities, according to guidelines released by
the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) Friday.
The guidelines said, however, that bishops had a "moral
duty to contribute to common good".
"Not having the role of a public official, the bishop does
not have the legal obligation to report (cases) to the judicial
authorities, aside from the moral duty to contribute to the
common good," the guidelines read on child-sex abuse cases.
They added that bishops must take "special care" in
selecting candidates for the priesthood.
They also stressed the importance of "rigorous attention
to exchanges of information about candidates to the priesthood
who move from one seminary to another".
The Church's image has been tainted by child-sex-abuse
scandals in many parts of the world, including Italy, in recent
years.
Pope Francis has taken several steps to repair some of the
damage, including the nomination of a new anti-abuse commission
this month.
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