ローマ教皇、性的虐待の守秘義務を廃止　隠蔽防止へ

【バチカン市国ＡＦＰ＝時事】ローマ教皇庁（バチカン）は17日、ローマ・カトリック教会が司祭らに対して定める守秘義務の対象から性的虐待事件を除外する方針を発表した。教会内での小児性愛事件隠蔽（いんぺい）撲滅に向けフランシスコ教皇が進める取り組みの一環。（写真はフランシスコ教皇）
　この規定は、外交や個人的問題、犯罪容疑など、教会の統治に関わる機密性の高い情報を保護するためのものだが、司祭や被害者が虐待を通報する妨げとなり、事件の刑事訴追を阻害しているとの批判があった。
　教皇は、自身の８３歳の誕生日である１７日に出した声明で、同規定を性的虐待事件に関する「告発、裁判、決定」に適用しないよう指示。虐待事件に関して「通報者、被害に遭ったと訴える人、目撃者は、いかなる守秘義務にも縛られてはならない」と記した。
　子どもの頃に性的虐待の被害を受けた当事者で、教皇庁の児童保護委員会が適切な対応を取っていないとして同委員会を辞職したマリー・コリンズさんはツイッターに「素晴らしい知らせだ」と投稿。今回の措置は委員会の勧告に沿ったものだとした上で、「ついに本物の前向きな変化が起こった」と歓迎した。
　フランシスコ教皇は今年５月、性的虐待を把握した人に上司への通報を義務付ける教令を発していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/18-09:10）

Priests can no longer cite papal secrecy in abuse cases, the Vatican said Tuesday, the latest move by Pope Francis to combat silence surrounding paedophilia in the Roman Catholic church.
The Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse around the world by priests, and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy.
Francis' latest instructions regarding Vatican law on sexual abuse say that the pontifical secret no longer applies to accusations, trials and decisions involving such cases.
Pontifical secrecy is a rule of confidentiality designed to protect sensitive information related to Church governance, such as diplomatic correspondence, personnel issues and alleged crimes.
Critics say the secrecy laws have prevented priests and victims from reporting abuse, as well as hindered national justice systems prosecuting cases.
The Vatican also announced on Tuesday that it was raising the age at which sexual images of a person were deemed child pornography from 14 to 18.
In May, the pope passed a landmark measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse to report it to their superiors, a move expected to bring even more cases to light.
In Tuesday's statement, issued on the Argentine pontiff's 83rd birthday, Francis spelt out the new obligations.
The person who files the report, the person who alleges to have been harmed and the witnesses shall not be bound by any obligation of silence with regard to matters involving the case, he wrote.
- An 'all-out battle' -
Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's chief sex crime investigator, called Francis' move an epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments.
He told the official Vatican News website that the question of transparency now is being implemented at the highest level.
The pope has vowed an all-out battle against sex abuse within the Church, but some victims' groups have said concrete measures have been slow in coming.
Marie Collins, a child sexual abuse survivor who in 2017 resigned from a Vatican committee she said was failing to adequately tackle paedophilia, welcomed the pope's latest move.
Excellent news, Collins wrote on Twitter, saying the committee had recommended the step. At last a real and positive change.
Despite the lifting of papal secrecy, Francis qualified that discretion in sexual abuse cases was still required.
Information pertaining to such cases should be treated, in such a way as to ensure its security, integrity and discretion... for the sake of protecting the good name, image and privacy of all persons involved, the pope wrote.
But that should not obstruct the law, the obligation to report abuses and the carrying out of requests by law enforcement, the instructions said.