January 2026

“Charity demands that the Church’s pastors resort to the penal system whenever it is required, keeping in mind the three aims that make it necessary in the ecclesial community: the restoration of the demands of justice, the correction of the guilty party and the repair of scandals” – Pope Francis

Canonists emphasise the need to continue imposing automatic penalties, given the peculiarity of the penal canonical law system, which requires that crimes of extreme gravity, of deep wickedness, of widespread scandal be punished immediately.