Crimen Sollicitationis - Involvement of The Holy See

Involvement of The Holy See

A New York Times article published on 1 July 2010 said, as is mentioned above, that the 1962 instruction was a restatement of that of 1922, giving the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office authority to prosecute clergy accused of sexual abuse. For 20 years Cardinal Ratzinger had been tasked with enforcing the Crimen Sollicitationis document.

Crimen sollicitationis repeated that, under pain of grave sin, any ordinary (bishop or equivalent) who received a denununciation of the crime of solicitation was to inform immediately the Holy See and the ordinary of the place of residence of the accused priest. It was for the ordinary of the place of residence to investigate the charge at the first level (in prima instantia); the Holy See reserved to itself the right to intervene at this level only "for particular and grave reasons".

The defendant did not lose the right that all members of the Church have to ask that their cases, at any level, be submitted to the Holy See; but once the trial had begun, such a recourse did not suspend the jurisdiction of the local judge, unless he learned that the Holy See had actually accepted the recourse. After sentence was passed, the defendant could appeal to the Holy See against it within ten days. If he did, any suspension from hearing confessions or exercising sacred ministry remained in force, but any other penalties imposed on him were suspended, until a decision was made on the appeal. The "promoter of justice" (the official Church prosecutor) could likewise appeal to the Holy See against a verdict in favour of the accused. This constituted an exception to the normal procedure whereby appeals against a first-level sentence are made to a designated second-level tribunal, with the case going to Rome only if the first two tribunals give discordant verdicts.