This month, the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) established a new legal structure to deal with crimes and offenses committed by clerics and laity within the Church, including sexual abuse of adults.
It is considered a world first: To date, no other bishops’ conference has implemented any national structure of this magnitude.
The tribunal “pénal canonique” national — “national canonical criminal court,” TPCN — is to some degree the result of findings by the French Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE).
In its October 2021 report, the commission demanded such a tribunal. The French bishops had already announced the creation of such a structure during their March 2021 plenary assembly.
Initially planned for April, its implementation was postponed due to delays in the validation of statutes by the Holy See.
The French bishops emphasized these ecclesiastical procedures are specific to the Church and its religious purposes. They do not conflict with national penal law, as the CEF specified in its presentation of the newly created court.
Why the French bishops have launched the world’s first canonical criminal court – Catholic World Report
Why the French bishops have launched the world’s first canonical criminal court – Catholic World Report
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