Church Document
Vos Estis Lux Mundi
Motu Proprio of Pope Francis (2019)
The apostolic letter given motu proprio establishing universal Church procedures for reporting and investigating the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons, and the conduct of bishops and religious superiors who cover such crimes up. It requires every diocese to have a public and accessible system for receiving reports, obliges clerics and religious to report allegations to the competent ecclesiastical authority, protects those who report from retaliation and from any obligation of silence, and sets out how the metropolitan or another designated bishop investigates a bishop, with time limits and reporting to the Holy See. Its provisions were revised and confirmed in 2023.
Key themes
Protection of minors and vulnerable persons
Obligation to report allegations
Accountability of bishops and religious superiors
Diocesan reporting systems
Care for victims
Document type
Motu proprio
Issuing authority
Pope Francis
Issued date
Related documents
- code-of-canon-law-1983
Content subtype
motu_proprio
