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

Kaul launches clergy sexual abuse probe

Kaul Catholic Abuse Probe Title: Kaul launches clergy sexual abuse probe Author: Todd Richmond Publisher: Associated Press Date: 27APR2021 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Justice has launched a sweeping investigation of sexual assault in Catholic churches and orders across Wisconsin, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Tuesday. Kaul, a Democrat, said during a

Read More »
Madonnina
News

Woelki calls for stronger law on clerical sex abuse

Woelki Clerical Sex Abuse Title: Woelki calls for stronger law on clerical sex abuse Author: Christa Pongratz-Lippitt Publisher: The Tablet Date: 08APR2021 The Archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has called for a tightening up of Canon law on clerical sex abuse.“Canon law on how to deal with priestly sexual abuse must be changed.

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Parishes enlisted to help pay clergy abuse victims

St. Therese Catholic Parish Title: Parishes enlisted to help pay clergy abuse victims Author: Colleen Heild Publisher: Albuquerque Journal Date: 24APR2021 St. Therese Catholic Parish in Albuquerque’s North Valley was once the largest in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, with a holy shrine and tiled-roof church considered one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in New

Read More »
Pope Francis abolishes pontifical
News

Wisconsin to launch statewide investigation of clergy sex abuse, attorney general document reveals

Josh Kaul Clergy Abuse Title: Wisconsin to launch statewide investigation of clergy sex abuse, attorney general document reveals Authors: Haley BeMiller, Laura Schulte & Patrick Marley – USA Today Network Wisconsin Publisher: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Date: 23APR2021 Attorney General Josh Kaul notified the state’s five dioceses as well as separate orders of Catholic priests that his

Read More »
Madonnina
Opinion

Parishes cannot obstruct sex abuse investigations

Michael Pfleger Diocese Obstruction Title: Parishes cannot obstruct sex abuse investigations Author: Michael Sean Winters Publisher: National Catholic Reporter Date: 23APR2021 The Catholic Church’s struggle to eradicate the cancer of clergy sex abuse is on trial today. The community at St. Sabina church in Chicago is trying to obstruct the investigation of their much-beloved pastor

Read More »