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Redraft canonical crimes as crimes against the child

IICSA · The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report · Issued 10 November 2020 · Addressed to: Catholic Bishops Conference

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation, C

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales should request that the Holy See redraft the canonical crimes relating to child sexual abuse as crimes against the child.

IICSA, The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report · 10 Nov 2020 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- On 30 September 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry confirmed that Book VI of the Code of Canon Law had been redrafted, with the revised Book published by Pope Francis on 1 June 2021, treating sexual offences against children as crimes against the child rather than solely against the sacraments (Government Response, Catholic Bishops' Conference, September 2021).
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that this recommendation had been completed (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).

Response — verbatim from government

●UK Government

On 30 September 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry confirmed that Book VI of the Code of Canon Law determines the penal norms in order to give precise and sure guidance to those who must apply them. The Catholic Council for the Inquiry also confirmed that the offence of child abuse is now framed as an offence committed against the dignity of the human person. It includes clerics, non-clerical religious and lay persons who occupy certain roles in the Church.

UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.