Prawo karne a jurydyzacja prawa kanonicznego. Rozważania w kontekście praktycznej aplikacji kanonicznej procedury karnej w przypadkach nadużyć seksualnych popełnianych przez duchownych wobec małoletnich

Abstract

The article analyses the criminal procedure applied in clarifying cases of sexual offences against minors in the Catholic Church and holding the perpetrators accountable. Taking into account the historical changes which the procedure underwent, the author of this article asks questions about its juridical efficiency in the context of revindicating victims and protecting their rights, the degree to which the procedural rights of the accused and the defendants are protected, canonical foundations, and the scope of responsibility of Church superiors in the context of compliance with the generally recognised procedural standards. The study, conducted using the legal-dogmatic method, supplemented with the legal-historic method, aims at specifying the actual degree and effects of the juridification of the currently applied procedure, its relations to a number of legal obligations incumbent on the Holy See, including the legal obligations arising from its adoption of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. On this basis, the author formulates conclusions de lege lata and demands de lege ferenda which, according to the author’s intention, should provide alternatives to improve the procedure in question, and make the public debate on the efforts taken by the Catholic Church in this matter more substantive.