Over the last several weeks, as has been covered here, there have been allegations that Diocesan and Vatican officials have neglected victims of clerical sexual abuse by allowing priests who have been accused of such atrocities to remain in pastoral ministry. Many people have been calling for the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI for his reported handling of such cases when he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Earlier today, the Vatican released the following guidelines that are applicable in all cases of allegations of sexual abuse.

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations

The applicable law is the Motu Proprio “Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela” (MP SST) of 30 April 2001 together with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This is an introductory guide which may be helpful to lay persons and non-canonists.

A: Preliminary Procedures

The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.

If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF. The local bishop transmits all the necessary information to the CDF and expresses his opinion on the procedures to be followed and the measures to be adopted in the short and long term.

Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.

Sorry for the absence over the past couple of weeks. I took the opportunity over the Christmas Recess to really rest, relax and gear up for the new academic semester that began bright and early Monday morning. We woke up to a very chilly 41 degrees , which is down right freezing cold by Florida standards. Before I get into the experiences of the upcoming semester, I wanted to wish all of you a very happy and blessed New Year. But, this is not just a new year, it is also the start of a new decade. So Happy New Decade as well!!

This semester is going to be a little different from the Fall semester, mainly because we do not have any major events planned, except our bi-annual Vocations Awareness Weekend in March–I am already expecting to have another well attended weekend. I always look forward to hosting the countless young men who come to the seminary to discern God’s will for their lives for that brief period of two days. I never took the opportunity to come on one of the weekends even though I had been invited numerous times by people in my parish. So, if there is a young man out there from the Diocese of Orlando who is thinking about serving the church as a priest, please seriously consider contacting Fr. Miguel at the Vocations Office about coming down March 12-14, 2010.