Rome & the World: how Church in Korea helps single moms • reforming the ‘pontifical secret’?

Every day, Aleteia offers a selection of articles written by the international press about the Church and the major issues that concern Catholics around the world. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not those of the editors.

Thursday 10 February 2022
1 – Can the Vatican reform the “Pontifical secret”?
2 – How the Lateran Accords opened the world to the Holy See
3 – Egypt names first-ever Christian head of country’s top court
4 – Church in Korea supports struggling single mothers
5 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s mother offers her son’s jersey to Pope Francis

1Can the Vatican reform the “Pontifical secret”?

The Pillar hypothesizes that Pope Francis could redefine the scope of “pontifical secrecy.” Already in 2019, the Argentine Pontiff had decreed that “the pontifical secret does not apply to accusations, trials, and decisions” related to sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, nor to the negligence of the hierarchy in dealing with these crimes. While this pontifical secrecy “is a defined level of professional confidentiality in the Church’s administrative life” that binds curia officials in many areas, the American outlet says many see a lot of “confusion” and even “urban legends” around it. For the editors of The Pillar, it is worth asking whether the current Pope or one of his successors could change the rules of this secrecy, taking into account the digital age.

The Pillar, English