“Impeccable firmness” of the legislator in the face of pedophile offences committed by consecrated persons. Practical remarks

Fr. Przemysław Michowicz’s chapter shows how the reform of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, enacted by the apostolic constitution “Pascite gregem Dei,” has extended criminal responsibility to all consecrated persons, not only clerics, with regard to pedophile offences against minors and vulnerable adults. The author explains that the new hypothesis of canon 1398 § 2 CIC of 2021 covers consecrated persons engaged in pastoral, educational, and formative activities with children, young people, and persons with disabilities, threatening them with removal from all offices and other just sanctions for pedophile acts listed in the closed catalogue of § 1. This provision is presented as the result of more than a decade of legislative work and necessary changes in substantive canonical criminal law, combining earlier norms into a coherent structure intended to express the legislator’s “impeccable firmness” in responding to pedophile crimes. The chapter also highlights the importance of precise terminology (for example, preferring the term “defenceless” to “helpless”) as a key element in effectively protecting particularly vulnerable persons within the Church’s legal system.