Sins such as the attempted ordination of women to the priesthood and the "crimes against the faith" of heresy, schism and apostasy, that have until now been investigated by the CDF only on an extraordinary basis will fall under their official jurisdiction, thus clearing up any confusion as to where cases must be reported. In other words, it formalizes procedures that may have been followed in practice, but were never made official.
According to the July 8 Notimex report, possession and distribution of child pornography will also be declared "serious sins" and, in cases in which they have been found guilty in civil courts, perpetrators could be sentenced without a canonical trial.
The modifications should be promulgated in the coming days, bearing the signature of the prefect of the CDF, Cardinal William Levada [pictured, right], and accompanied by notes explaining the changes and the history of the legislation.
There was more...
Reports concur across the board that there will be changes in the process of trying priests who have sexually abused minors, and that there will be an increase in the statute of limitations in these cases from the current 10 years to 20 years after the victim turned 18 years old.
Go read: Vatican to clarify canonical procedure for attempted ordination of women at CNA/EWTN News
Phil Lawler discusses how the media will report on this issue in the coming days in, Advance warning: inaccurate news reports coming soon at Catholic Culture.
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