The Vatican may by-pass its own judicial process and issue an "extrajudicial decree" against priests involved in sex abuse cases under new regulations intended to speed up procedures.
Regulations published yesterday by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith also stipulate that the more serious cases necessitating the removal of an offender from the priesthood could be dealt with directly by the Pope.
According to the Vatican's sex abuse prosecutor, Mgr Charles Scicluna, decisions on the type of procedures adopted in particular cases were taken by the Congregation as soon as a bishop transmitted the acts of the preliminary investigation by the Response Team.
"Delays in the preliminary investigation are a strong argument for more expedite procedures in the following stages," Mgr Scicluna said when asked whether the case involving a number of Maltese men, who alleged sex abuse by priests at a Church-run orphanage, fell within the parameters of an extrajudicial decree given that it has dragged on for seven years.
Mgr Scicluna was in Malta last month to meet the alleged victims and collect their testimony first-hand.
The Congregation already had special extrajudicial permission granted to it by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and confirmed by his successor in 2005. However, according to Mgr Scicluna, the new regulations make this special permission an integral part of canon law.
The regulations dealing with "most serious crimes" are intended to speed up procedures in sex abuse cases and are a clear response to worldwide criticism of the Church's slow reaction in dealing with such matters.
For the first time, the Vatican has also included child pornography as a serious crime. Priests will be punished if they acquire, possess or distribute pornographic images of minors under age 14.
The Church also increased the prescription period for abuse victims to be able to report their case to 20 years from 10, with the possibility of an extension even beyond that period. This means victims can be up to 38 years of age - 20 years after reaching maturity age - when reporting abuse.
Abuse of mentally disabled adults by priests will now be considered as grave as abuse of minors.
The regulations reiterated the Vatican's stand that Church authorities have to comply with the requirements of civil law in the various countries and to do so "in good time".
The regulations were an update of the document approved by Pope John Paul II in 2001, which gave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responsibility to deal with and judge a series of particularly serious crimes within the remit of canon law.
Apart from sex abuse by priests, the regulations yesterday gave wider powers to the Congregation when dealing with serious crimes involving heresy, apostasy and schism. The regulations also make the attempted ordination of women a serious crime.