VATICAN CITY, June 10 (UPI) -- Pope Francis has authorized a tribunal to deal with accountability of bishops in pedophile priest cases, the Vatican announced Wednesday.
He approved the creation of a tribunal under the Vatican agency Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with "adequate resources" so bishops can report cases of alleged child abuse by priests, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. The move is unprecedented and establishes a permanent body to make bishops more responsible for reporting cases of abuse, as recommended by the Pope's new panel of advisors on clerical sex abuse.