Papal secret

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A protective measure within the Roman Curia of the Roman Catholic Church , to which certain processes are subject to strict confidentiality ( sub secreto pontificio ), is referred to as the papal secret ( Latin secretum pontificium , secret that belongs to the pontiff ' ). It is used, for example, in the preparation of the creation of cardinals or the appointment of bishops , in the preparation of important documents and in processes in the area of ​​the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that concern the protection of the faith and the sacrament of penance .

Both the Pope and the Prefects of the Dicasteries of the Curia and Papal envoy can place events under the protection of the secretum pontificium . Such processes and documents are only intended for the individual recipient and must not be passed on. Employees of the Curia or Vatican diplomats who are involved in such processes must undertake to maintain secrecy and confidentiality on an oath. For the violation of the secret, a penal norm is provided in the curial disciplinary law, which is imposed by a specially formed commission.

The guidelines were laid down by the State Secretariat in an instruction issued on February 4, 1974 by Pope Paul VI. was approved . Previously, similar regulations applied as the Secretum Sancti Officii for the Holy Office .

In connection with the fight against sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church , Pope Francis lifted the papal secret in the prosecution of abusive offenses with immediate effect on December 17, 2019 with the instruction Sulla riservatezza delle cause ("On the confidentiality of proceedings") . Church criminal proceedings on sexual acts involving violence, threats or abuse of office, sexual acts with minors, possession and distribution of child pornographic material as well as cover-up will continue to be treated confidentially, but are no longer subject to the special secrecy of the secretum pontificium , so that investigations and any existing state Notification obligation are not hindered. Dossiers and trial files on cases of abuse that are stored in Vatican institutions or diocesan archives can now be made available to the requesting investigative judges in the respective countries. With this measure, the Pope responded to a demand made in connection with the crisis caused by sexual abuse, among others by the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference , Cardinal Reinhard Marx , and which was also made at the Vatican conference on sexual abuse in the Church that Pope Francis had held with the presidents of all national bishops' conferences in February 2019. The canon lawyer Thomas Schüller drew attention to the fact that it was no longer possible to prevent clarification with reference to the papal secret.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hugo Schwendenwein : Papal Secret . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 7 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, Sp. 1344 .
  2. ↑ Michael Kinnen: The Papal Secret and Its Application . In: kirchenzeitung.de , March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ RESCRIPTUM EX AUDIENTIA SS.MI: Rescritto del Santo Padre Francesco con cui si promulga l'Istruzione Sulla riservatezza delle cause. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , December 17, 2019, accessed December 19, 2019 (Italian, with translations in English, Spanish and German).
  4. ↑ Pope abolishes "Papal Secret" in cases of abuse . In: kathisch.de , December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Papers decree: "A result of the child protection summit" . In: vaticannews.de , December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ Bishop Dr. Stephan Ackermann on the abolition of the so-called papal secret in the prosecution of abuse offenses . In: dbk.de. Press release No. 211, December 17, 2019. Accessed December 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Pope abolishes "papal secret" in the event of abuse . In: sueddeutsche.de, December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.