Power will be given to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors".

A new office will be established within the CDF to work as a tribunal to judge bishops in this regard.

And the Pope will appoint a second-in-command at the CDF to head the tribunal and to work with the congregation's prefect.

The new accountability system includes five points agreed to by the Pope, which cover the above moves.

They are mandated for a five year period.

The system was developed by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and was backed by the Pope's C9 Council of Cardinals.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the power to fire prelates still remains with the Pope.

But the Pope accepts the decisions of those he puts in such tribunal offices, Fr Lombardi said.

The CDF is already tasked with investigating cases of priests accused of sexual abuse.

The first of the five points states that there is a "duty" to report "allegations of the abuse of office by a bishop connected to the abuse of minors" to the Vatican offices which oversee bishops.

The points do not specifically state who has the duty to report abuses of office by bishops.

They also don't spell out how those reports might be transferred by the Vatican congregations that oversee bishops to the doctrinal congregation for judgment.

The points also do not indicate how a bishop who comes under judgment will be able to defend himself.

Earlier this month, the head of the Centre for Child Protection based at the Pontifical Gregorian University complained there are no legal procedures or list of sanctions in canon law for bishops who violate canonical norms on sexual abuse.

The new system of accountability is seen as a response to such complaints.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic World Report

A Church tribunal found that Fr Matthew Despard of St John Ogilvie in Lanarkshire had injured the reputation of the Church as well as clergy and lay people.

Already under suspension, he will be removed from his parish and will have to spend three months in penance.

The priest made the claims in a book he self-published in the Internet titled "Priesthood in Crisis".

Fr Despard claimed that sexual misconduct had been widespread in junior seminaries for decades.

He also said he had alerted Church authorities, but that nothing had been done.

In a letter to Fr Despard, the Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Toal, said: "The judges determined that of the 21 of the 26 charges brought against Fr Despard, five were not proven."

"In the majority of cases, the tribunal ruled that Fr Despard had injured the good reputation of a number of people, both lay and clergy."

Fr Despard did not take part in the tribunal, but was represented by a lawyer.

The bishop added: "The bishop regrets that a penal case had to be pursued against Fr Despard, but felt it necessary in order to vindicate the reputation of those wrongly accused by him."

Fr Despard will reportedly appeal against the tribunal's ruling.

When he was suspended, his parishioners launched a petition in protest.

Parishioners also boycotted a Mass celebrated by the diocese's apostolic administrator at St John Ogilvie.

Priesthood in Crisis, which appeared just after Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned over sexual misconduct, was originally made available through Amazon.

It was withdrawn from sale by Amazon in the United Kingdom (although it remains available in the US) because of lawsuits threatened by individuals who were named in the book.

Sources

• Herald Scotland
• Catholic World News
• Catholic World News
• Image: Sunday Post

Bishop Richard Lennon announced this is to promote the common good of the faithful of Cleveland.

A typical annulment case costs petitioners about US$450. The overall cost of each case is about three times that.

The Cleveland diocese's marriage tribunal will take on the full costs of the cases.

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