Pope Francis Creates New Judicial Body To Speed Up Sex Abuse Claims

Religion News Service and Vatican Radio report that Pope Francis has created a new 7-member judicial body within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to speed up the handling of complaints against priests alleging sexual abuse of minors.  The new body will deal with cases initially screened by local bishops. It will also deal with serious abuses of the Sacrament of Penance.  Complaints against bishops will continue to be handled by the full Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The full text of the Pope's rescript which came into force yesterday is available in Italian.