Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Church must respect local laws when handling child abuse cases. The Holy See's updated rules regarding handling child sex abuse "represent an indispensable guide for a large community, like the Catholic Church, which must have common standards autonomous of those of the countries in which its is present", Fr Lombardi was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency, reports AFP.
"However, it is obvious that in these countries just civil laws must be respected and applied to men of the church, as on the part of each citizen, equally in regard to crimes of abuse," he is cited as saying in the report published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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