What does the recent letter Wilton Gregory received from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about refusing certain cases mean?
The full text of the letter can be viewed at CDF Ruling on Refusal of Certain Cases. Essentially, the CDF is saying that after November 21, 2004 (The Solemnity of Christ the King), they will no longer accept for the purposes of the imposition of penalties any case already “denounced” to the Ordinary before April 30, 2001, if prescription (the canonical statute of limitations) has lapsed. This is a bit of an oversimplification, but basically what it means is that if the bishop is aware of an allegation predating April 30, 2001, in which the alleged victim is 28 years of age, he only has till November 21, 2004, to bring the matter to CDF if he wants a penalty imposed. After that, he can only deal with these older allegations in a non-penal way. The CDF will not consider the imposition of a penalty, and they will not authorize the bishop to impose penalties on the older cases after November 21. Since the “graviora delicta” are served to CDF, the bishop cannot impose penalties unless autho
