Homepage

About Pontifical Secret

OPEN LETTER TO POPE LEO XIV

Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV,

I write to you not as a theologian or canon lawyer, but as a voice for victims, for truth — and for countless children silenced by the Catholic Church’s misuse of secrecy, power, and privilege.

For decades, the Vatican has protected perpetrators of child sexual abuse through internal secrecy over justice — under pontifical secrecy, knowingly moving known abusers between parishes, exposing more children to harm. These actions — documented in civil inquiries, royal commissions, and Kieran Tapsell’s “Potiphar’s Wife”— cannot be denied.

Your papacy offers a critical turning point. You have the power to begin a new chapter.

I respectfully urge you to:

  • enforce the classification of child sexual abuse as a grave crime with mandatory, permanent penalties;
  • extend the same penalties to bishops and clergy who conceal or cover up these crimes — and explicitly define such cover-ups as grave crimes;
  • introduce a one-strike policy: if a priest is found guilty of abuse, they must be dismissed from the clerical state;
  • remove all protections of pontifical secrecy in abuse cases — past, present, and future;
  • support full cooperation with civil justice systems in every country.

These actions will not undo the past, but will show the Church no longer tolerates the intolerable.

Justice demands it. Survivors deserve it. Jesus died for it.

With respect and hope for a renewed Church,

Joolsmagools®️ 👫 B4 ⛪️

11th May 2025

 
Link to “Kieran Tapsell.  Pope Francis Abolishes the Pontifical Secret Over Child Sexual Abuse” via John Menadue – Pearls and Irritations Blog dated 20DEC2019.
 
 
(My views are happily influenced by Kieran Tapsell, author of  “Potiphar’s Wife: The Secret of the Holy Office and Child Sexual Abuse”.  I recommend Tapsell’s book, his research and views on “Crimen Sollicitationis” and “Pontifical Secret”.
 
 
 
* AKA “Secret of the Holy Office”, “Secreta Continere”, “Papal Secrecy” & “Papal Secret”. Highest form of Secrecy, Code of Silence, Veil of Secrecy, Secrecy, Obligation of Silence, Obligation of Secrecy, Sulla riservatezza delle cause, “On the Confidentiality of Legal Proceedings”)
Madonnina
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical

Latest Posts

Madonnina
Opinion

Vatican child protection leader: ‘Building credibility needs a track record’

Vatican Fr. Andrew Small Title: Vatican child protection leader: ‘Building credibility needs a track record’ Author: Luke Coppen Publisher: The Pillar Date:  04NOV2022 Fr. Andrew Small, secretary of the Vatican’s child protection committee, talks about sexual abuse and Church reform. Fr. Andrew Small was appointed in June to one of the most important positions in

Read More »
Madonnina
Opinion

Women must be included in formation of priests, says abuse expert

Abuse Expert Hans Zollner Title: Women must be included in formation of priests, says abuse expert Author: Sarah MacDonald Publisher: Crux Date: 03NOV2022 One of the church’s leading experts on safeguarding and clerical sexual abuse has said the exclusion of women from seminary formation has had “extremely harmful consequences,” and this “needs to change.” Jesuit

Read More »
Madonnina
News

The rebel priest standing up to the Catholic Church

Peter Murnane Clerical Errors Title: The rebel priest standing up to the Catholic Church Author: Steve Kilgallon Publisher: Stuff NZ Date:  30OCT2022 For 62 years, Peter Murnane has been a Dominican priest. He remained so through the storm after he poured blood on the floor of the US Consul’s office. When he provided a safe

Read More »
Madonnina
News

Vatican’s anti-child abuse panel to issue first full report in 2024

Vatican’s anti-child abuse panel Title: Vatican’s anti-child abuse panel to issue first full report in 2024 Reporting: Alvise Armellini & Philip Pullella Editing: Andrew Cawthorne & David Gregorio Publisher: Reuters Date: 29OCT2022 VATICAN CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) – The Vatican panel due to produce annual reports on child abuse prevention within the Catholic Church will

Read More »
Madonnina
Opinion

Why I declined to join my diocesan sex abuse review board

Declined Abuse Review Board Title: Why I declined to join my diocesan sex abuse review board Author: John W. Miller Publisher: National Catholic Reporter Date:  25OCT2022 A report last month that a priest in suburban Chicago had been accused of sex abuse after a diocesan review board had found “insufficient reason to suspect” misbehavior has raised questions

Read More »