For a long time there has been unease in the Church that some bishops who have been culpably negligent in failing to report abusive priests to the civil authorities have not had to face a reckoning. Pope Francis has now decided, on the advice of his Council of Cardinals, that Catholic bishops who failed to take appropriate action should be called to account before a new tribunal, with removal from their post if found guilty of abuse of office. A new section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will handle such cases. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston appears to be behind this new initiative. The Pope’s key adviser regarding the Church’s response to child abuse, he has made no secret of his exasperation at the delay in handling the case of Bishop Robert Finn o