Canon law has effective penalties for guilty priests

THERE has been much mention in the media about the canon law of the Catholic Church in relation to the crime of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The impression being conveyed is that canon law seeks to excuse from penalties priests who sexually abuse minors. This is false.

Canon law has very effective means of addressing the crime. Whether they are applied in the concrete case is an entirely separate issue and a failure to apply the provisions of canon law properly does not mean that the law itself is fundamentally flawed.