On December 5, the Conference of Bishops of France in a lengthy press release (full text in French) announced the creation of a National Canonical Penal Court. According to National Catholic Reporter:
[The Bishops' statement] said the 20-member court, approved by the Vatican in September, would be tasked with judging "canonical offenses committed by clergy and laity" nationwide, such as acts of sacrilege, apostasy, schism, misuse of sacraments and teachings against the church's magisterium. The court aimed to "strengthen and harmonize" procedures formerly followed by diocesan and archdiocesan tribunals....
Establishment of the court, partly staffed by lay experts, was one of 45 recommendations by an Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church in its 2,500-page report released in October 2021....
However, while the new court would hear accusations involving adults, claims of sexual offenses by clergy against minors and canonical complaints against bishops would continue to be referred to the Vatican, the statement said.
The bishops' statement said church courts were "specific to the church's religious purposes," and complied with the country's 1905 church-state separation law.
