Pope Francis updated the “norms on the most serious crimes reserved for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”. The changes will take effect on December 8, 2021.
The original Latin text “Normae de delictis contra fidem necnon de gravioribus delictis” was promulgated by Saint John Paul II in 2001 and amended by Benedict XVI in 2010. The same is updated by Pope Francis this year.
Among the crimes contemplated are “crimes against the faith” such as heresy, apostasy or schism; various types of violations of the Sacraments of the Eucharist, Penance; the attempt to ordain a woman to the priesthood; crimes against the sixth commandment by the clergy to a minor; possession of pedopornographic material, among others.
In addition, the text specifies that criminal action for crimes reserved for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has a prescription of 20 years.
Likewise, the document recalls that the bishop – ordinary of the place – or superior upon receiving a credible accusation must carry out an investigation prior to notifying the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As indicated by the Vatican, the crimes contemplated in the norms remain the same and “the changes introduced refer mostly to procedural aspects, intended to clarify and facilitate the correct development of the Church’s criminal action for the administration of justice. ”.
Along these lines, the changes were made in harmony with the norms of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law promulgated in May 2021.
Finally, this update of the norms “aims to improve the Church’s criminal action on crimes reserved for the Congregation, including the most serious crimes against morality and the celebration of the Sacraments, readapting the practice to the norms of recent years” .
Among the most important changes, there is the possibility of referring directly to the decision of the Pontiff the subjects that imply “the dismissal or deposition of the clerical state, as well as the dispensation of the law of celibacy and -where appropriate- of religious vows; also cases of particularly serious crimes against fidem ”.
Finally, the deadline for submitting an appeal after the first instance sentence was modified (from one month to 60 days), to standardize the judicial procedure with the extrajudicial one.