Pope Francis launches new panel to speed up abuse cases

c. 2014 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis on Tuesday (November 11) created a new Vatican body to deal with the most serious cases of child sexual abuse and to streamline complaints against the clergy.

The Vatican said the pope would nominate seven cardinals or bishops to consider appeals from clergy accused of abusing minors in a bid to speed up the judicial process of clergy who have received an initial assessment by local bishops.