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Due to the appearing accusations against some clergymen of sexual abuse of minors, the church legislator has been consistently tightening the canonical criminal law for many years. The purpose of this action is to ensure the protection of children and young people. This is done in three areas. The first is building preventive systems, the second is the promulgation of substantive penal norms, the third is the creation of a lex specialis on the basis of the existing formal law on procedures aimed at punishing perpetrators, and thus redressing the scandal and compensating for the violated justice. Penal material norms play an important role in the entire system of protection of minors. The most recent amendment to the Code of Canon Law listed sexual offenses committed against minors and their equated persons as acts against human life, dignity and freedom, and therefore considered them the most serious canonical offenses. Basing on the earlier norms, the church legislator first criminalized the broadly understood sexual acts committed against these people, further defined as criminal activities aimed at seducing or persuading them to present themselves in pornographic scenes, and finally included the broadly understood acquisition, storage, presentation and disseminating pornography with images of minors. The definition of these crimes is often broader than in state legislation. Additionally, in the last amendment, the legislator extended the concept of an entity capable of committing this type of crime. Thus, another amendment to the canon law increased the scope of protection for minors and their equated persons

Due to the appearing accusations against some clergymen of sexual abuse of minors, the church legislator has been consistently tightening the canonical criminal law for many years. The purpose of this action is to ensure the protection of children and young people. This is done in three areas. The first is building preventive systems, the second is the promulgation of substantive penal norms, the third is the creation of a lex specialis on the basis of the existing formal law on procedures aimed at punishing perpetrators, and thus redressing the scandal and compensating for the violated justice. Penal material norms play an important role in the entire system of protection of minors. The most recent amendment to the Code of Canon Law listed sexual offenses committed against minors and their equated persons as acts against human life, dignity and freedom, and therefore considered them the most serious canonical offenses. Basing on the earlier norms, the church legislator first criminalized the broadly understood sexual acts committed against these people, further defined as criminal activities aimed at seducing or persuading them to present themselves in pornographic scenes, and finally included the broadly understood acquisition, storage, presentation and disseminating pornography with images of minors. The definition of these crimes is often broader than in state legislation. Additionally, in the last amendment, the legislator extended the concept of an entity capable of committing this type of crime. Thus, another amendment to the canon law increased the scope of protection for minors and their equated persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its judgment of October 12, 2021 (application no. 11625/17), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the first time referred to the issue of the Holy See's immunity. The case is of a precedential nature. It is highly probable that this ruling will determine the line of the Court's case-law for a long time. It did not find anything irrational or arbitrary in the detailed justification which led the Court of Appeal in Ghent (Belgium) to conclude that it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate on a civil liability action against the Holy See for sexual abuse by representatives of the Belgian clergy, in particular, due to its immunity from jurisdiction. The ECtHR found that this limitation complied with generally recognized principles of international law and was not disproportionate. The Belgian courts and the ECtHR treating the Holy See as a state is an over-interpretation. The Holy See cannot be treated as a foreign sovereign. This is a historical anachronism. At the very most, we can speak of the so-called 'spiritual sovereignty' of the Holy See, which his related to the fact that it is the governing body of the Catholic Church. However, it has no public-law powers over church structures and its followers. The Church is a voluntary international private association of natural persons. It has no administrative power over its members. The Holy See has a superior position over bishops. Therefore, it should also be responsible for the lack of a proper reaction by these church leaders to the sexual abuse of the clergy subordinate to them. In the past, the Catholic Church operated a policy of silence (omerta) based on clericalism. The pontificate of Pope Francis brought about fundamental changes in this area. However, the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of October 12, 2021 is procrastinating and will probably trigger what can be termed a 'chilling effect'. What takes precedence is the good of the influential institution - the Holy See - and not those individuals wronged in their childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Perpetrators of sexual abuse of minors are also amongst clergy. The Catholic Church and the Church in Poland is trying to do its best to prevent such situations from happening or, when they take place, the focus of the Church is to offer proper help and protection to victims. This paper shows some actions of the Church in Poland undertaken to protect children and youth. These are only the examples of such actions, which however show that Polish bishops and superiors of institutes of consecrated life are sensitive to that protection. They definitely condemn the cases of sexual abuse of minors. They try to make each reported case investigated and the perpetrator made punished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]