Pope Francis has released an updated version of his landmark legislation to counter clergy sexual abuse. Over the weekend, the Holy Father addressed the Church's method for handling abuse, done by lay leaders of international organizations recognized by the Vatican. The new guidelines reaffirm the commitment to investigating cases of misconduct and harassment. It also provides protection for potential whistle blowers. EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief, Andreas Thonhauser, joins to tell us more about this decree. He shares more about these new Church norms and why they were only introduced on an experimental basis up until now. Thonhauser explains how the Church is making process despite the sad and terrible topic of the abuses.
Andreas Thonhauser is EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the WU Executive Academy in Vienna and a Master’s degree in German Philology/Anglistics and Americanistics from the University of Vienna. Prior to joining EWTN, Thonhauser worked as the Director of External Affairs for a global human rights organization, and for several media outlets in Vienna, Austria.
