next Image 1 of 2prev Image 2 of 2The Latest on new church laws regarding sex abuse reporting issued Thursday by Pope Francis (all times local):4 p.m. The head of the U.S. bishops conference is welcoming Pope Francis' new church law about reporting clergy sex abuse and investigating bishops for cover-ups. The law now forces the U.S. conference to essentially start over in preparing new measures to hold one another accountable when bishops abuse or cover-up abuse. The church law published Thursday provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to receive the claims confidentially. It's the latest effort by Francis to respond to the global eruption of the sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has devastated the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy and his own papacy.

Source: Fox News May 09, 2019 13:52 UTC