The Vatican is plan revisions in the section of the Code of Canon Law
that details penalties for various violations, in hopes that bishops
will be more inclined to use those sanctions.
The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts-- the Vatican body that
supervises the Code of Canon Law-- is drafting changes to the section on
canonical penalties.
Vatican experts are concerned that many bishops
feel reluctant to impose canonical sanctions, choosing instead to apply a
"pastoral solution" to problems.
In revising the penalties, the Vatican
hopes to persuade bishops that the use of canonical discipline is
itself a proper pastoral approach, and ultimately a show of charity
toward the individual who needs disciplinary correction.
In the course of the sex-abuse crisis, many analysts have observed that
the Code of Canon Law provided adequate sanctions for priests who
molested children, but those sanctions were rarely invoked.