Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of the sexual abuse of minors, by abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that covers them.

New papal documents lift the obligation of silence on those who report abuse or say they have been victims.

Church leaders called for the rule’s abolition at a February Vatican summit.

Information in abuse cases should still be treated with “security, integrity and confidentiality”, the Pope said.

He instructed Vatican officials to comply with civil laws and assist civil judicial authorities in investigating such cases.

The Pope has also changed the Vatican’s definition of child pornography, increasing the age of the subject from 14 or under to 18 or under.

Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna called the move an “epochal decision that removes obstacles and impediments”, telling Vatican news that “the question of transparency now is being implemented at the highest level”.

The Church has been rocked by thousands of reports of sexual abuse by priests and accusations of cover-ups by senior clergy around the world.

Pope Francis has been under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to the crisis which has engulfed the Church over recent years. Read more

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Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of the sexual abuse of minors, by abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that covers them.

Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of the sexual abuse of minors, by abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that covers them.

Pope Francis has made changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of the sexual abuse of minors, by abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that covers them.