What is a Vos Estis?
After years of the Catholic Church being rocked by one sex scandal after another, all faithful Catholics should know what a Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint is, and how it should be applied.
On May 7th of 2019, Pope Francis issued a Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which is an official Church document, to formalize the reporting, investigation, and resolution of any impropriety at any level within the church.
The detailed assignment of responsibilities in the Vos Estis was an attempt to ensure such complaints would be fully investigated and could no longer be swept under the rug. If the complaints were found to be valid, the Catholic laity were assured by both Pope Francis and the Vatican that such scandals were finally being addressed in a formal no-nonsense manner.
According to the preamble of the Vos Estis:
This responsibility falls, above all, on the successors of the Apostles, chosen by God to be pastoral leaders of his People, and demands from them a commitment to follow closely the path of the Divine Master. Because of their ministry, in fact, Bishops, “as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular churches entrusted to them by their counsel, exhortations, example, and even by their authority and sacred power, which indeed they use only for the edification of their flock in truth and holiness, remembering that he who is greater should become as the lesser and he who is the chief become as the servant” (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 27). What more closely concerns the successors of the Apostles concerns all those who, in various ways, assume ministries in the Church, or profess the evangelical counsels, or are called to serve the Christian People. Therefore, it is good that procedures be universally adopted to prevent and combat these crimes that betray the trust of the faithful.
In other words, the Bishops of the Church have a special duty to follow the conditions laid down in the Vos Estis Lux Mundi, as they are the shepherds closest to the Body of Christ, the Catholic faithful.
The following definitions will prove helpful in understanding the Vos Estis:
Ordinary: a cleric with jurisdiction over a territory, such as a bishop, diocesan vicar, or abbot
Metropolitan: An archbishop placed over a section of a country, comprising a number of suffragan dioceses
Holy See: the power of the Supreme Pontiff, or Pope, as exercised through various tribunals and congregations assisting in Church governance
Dicastery: One of the official congregations of the Holy See
Some excerpts of the application and duties listed in the Vos Estis Lux Mundi are:
Art. 1 – Scope of application
i. forcing someone, by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts;
ii. performing sexual acts with a minor or a vulnerable person;
b) conduct carried out by the subjects referred to in article 6, consisting of actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil investigations or canonical investigations, whether administrative or penal, against a cleric or a religious regarding the delicts referred to in letter a) of this paragraph.
Art. 2 – Reception of reports and data protection
§3. Except as provided for by article 3 §3, the Ordinary who received the report shall transmit it without delay to the Ordinary of the place where the events are said to have occurred, as well as to the Ordinary of the person reported, who proceed according to the law provided for the specific case.
Art. 3 – Reporting
§2. Any person can submit a report concerning the conduct referred to in article 1, using the methods referred to in the preceding article, or by any other appropriate means.
§3. When the report concerns one of the persons indicated in article 6, it is to be addressed to the Authority identified based upon articles 8 and 9. The report can always be sent to the Holy See directly or through the Pontifical Representative.
§4. The report shall include as many particulars as possible, such as indications of time and place of the facts, of the persons involved or informed, as well as any other circumstance that may be useful in order to ensure an accurate assessment of the facts.
Art. 4 – Protection of the person submitting the report
§1. Making a report pursuant to article 3 shall not constitute a violation of office confidentiality.
§2. Except as provided for by canons 1390 CIC and 1452 and 1454 CCEO, prejudice, retaliation or discrimination as a consequence of having submitted a report is prohibited and may constitute the conduct referred to in article 1 §1, letter b).
§3. An obligation to keep silent may not be imposed on any person with regard to the contents of his or her report.
Art. 6 – Subjective scope of application
The procedural norms referred to in this title concern the conduct referred to in article 1, carried out by:
a) Cardinals, Patriarchs, Bishops and Legates of the Roman Pontiff;
Art. 8 – Procedure applicable in the event of a report concerning a Bishop of the Latin Church
§1. The Authority that receives a report transmits it both to the Holy See and to the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province where the person reported is domiciled.
§2. If the report concerns the Metropolitan, or the Metropolitan See is vacant, it shall be forwarded to the Holy See, as well as to the senior suffragan Bishop by promotion, to whom, if such is the case, the following provisions regarding the Metropolitan apply.
Art. 10 – Initial duties of the Metropolitan
§1. Unless the report is manifestly unfounded, the Metropolitan immediately requests, from the competent Dicastery, that he be assigned to commence the investigation. If the Metropolitan considers the report manifestly unfounded, he shall so inform the Pontifical Representative.
§2. The Dicastery shall proceed without delay, and in any case within thirty days from the receipt of the first report by the Pontifical Representative or the request for the assignment by the Metropolitan, providing the appropriate instructions on how to proceed in the specific case.
Art. 12 – Carrying out the investigation
§1. Once he has been appointed by the competent Dicastery and acting in compliance with the instructions received, the Metropolitan, either personally or through one or more suitable persons:
a) collects relevant information regarding the facts;
b) accesses the information and documents necessary for the purpose of the investigation kept in the archives of ecclesiastical offices;
c) obtains the cooperation of other Ordinaries or Hierarchs whenever necessary;
d) requests information from individuals and institutions, including civil institutions, that are able to provide useful elements for the investigation.
§2. If it is necessary to hear from a minor or a vulnerable person, the Metropolitan shall adopt appropriate procedures, which take into account their status.
§3. In the event that there are well-founded motives to conclude that information or documents concerning the investigation are at risk of being removed or destroyed, the Metropolitan shall take the necessary measures for their preservation.
§4. Even when making use of other persons, the Metropolitan nevertheless remains responsible for the direction and conduct of the investigation, as well as for the timely execution of the instructions referred to in article 10 §2.
Also from the Vos Estis Lux Mundi:
The present norms are approved ad experimentum for three years.
I.e., until May 2022.
As you can see from the above, the details of how the investigation is to be performed, time constraints on the investigation, and forwarding to the appropriate investigatory Diocese or other Catholic bodies is mandatory upon receipt of a Vos Estis complaint.
Again, this was to be the definitive answer as to the procedures to follow for any reported scandals within the Church, the reporting of the outcome of the investigations of such reports, and to finally put an end to the secretive nature of such scandals.
You can find the entirety of the Vos Estis Lux Mundi here: Vos Estis Lux Mundi