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

Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Deaf Argentine abuse survivors target pope with defiant message

Title: Deaf Argentine abuse survivors target pope with defiant message Author: Geneva (AFP) Publication: France 24 Date: 19FEB2020 Three deaf survivors of clerical sexual abuse from Argentina say they want Pope Francis finally to live up to his promises of reform — and they are taking their call directly to the Vatican this week. The three told

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Survivor advocacy group accuses pope of cherry-picking abuse reforms

Cherry picking abuse reforms Title: Survivor advocacy group accuses pope of cherry-picking abuse reforms Author: Elise Ann Allen Publication: Crux Date: 18FEB2020 ROME – As the one-year mark of Pope Francis’s landmark summit on child protection approaches, survivors of clerical abuse are arguing that the pope, while taking positive steps, is inconsistent in his response

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Removal of ‘pontifical secret’ in clerical sex abuse trials a step forward for justice

Pontifical Secret Marie Collins Title: Removal of ‘pontifical secret’ in clerical sex abuse trials a step forward for justice Author: Marie Collins Publication: The Irish Times Date: 18FEB2020 On the December 17th last the Vatican announced that the “pontifical secret” would no longer be applied to canon law trials involving clerical sexual offences. Many people were unaware of

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Little progress since Vatican’s sexual abuse summit, say activists

Child Abuse Zero Tolerance Title: Little progress since Vatican’s sexual abuse summit, say activists Author: Angela Giuffrida Publication: The Guardian Date: 18FEB2020 The Vatican has done little to seriously address the problem of clerical sexual abuse one year on from an unprecedented summit at which bishops and cardinals heard the testimony of victims, activists have

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
Child Abuse Royal Commission

Health and Integrity in Church and Ministry

Royal Commission Sexual Abuse Title: Health and Integrity in Church and Ministry: An ecumenical conversation on the task of rebuilding and renewal after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Conference Papers Editor: Stephen Crittenden Publication: Franciscan Friars (Australia) Date: 27-29 August 2018 Melbourne, Australia Key excerpts: Recommendation 16.10 is formulated as follows:

Read More »