“While it is recognised that the term ‘contra sextum’ has been used in the tradition to express something far wider than adultery, it should also be recognised that the term, as used in the law, is no longer adequate to meet the demands of a contemporary canonical approach to sexual offences against minors and their equivalent in law and can distort the values which the Church wishes to protect in prosecuting these offences”.

Father said he was never offered an opportunity to rebut the allegations at any stage. He has never been charged with any crime. “I think it is a tremendous miscarriage of justice for both sides,” Father's attorney said. “It just shows there is absolutely no due process, there is no one in the room managing this situation at all, to the harm of both sides. The Catholic Church doctrine of mercy just isn’t part of the equation down at that chancery.”

The judge threw out the defamation suit filed by Monsignor, which alleged that the Diocese defamed him when its spokesperson stated in an NPR interview that she believed his claims of misconduct and apologized to the accuser. Monsignor's attorney said, “We think if you polled 100 people out at Target and Walmart and read them those statements, 99 if not 100 would agree [Diocese] endorsed the charges and accused [Monsignor] of child abuse and molestation. If you’re a neutral person, you don’t apologize for someone.”

Pope Francis on Saturday urged families, educational and public institutions to tackle with renewed determination the scourge of child abuse, paedophilia and child pornography, describing them as "psychological murder". “Even today,” he pointed out, “we note that the first reaction of many families is to cover up everything.” “It is always there in other institutions, even in the Church,” he said, adding, “we must fight this old habit of covering up”.

In a letter to the parish community, Cardinal Blaise Cupich said a review by the Archdiocesan Office of Child Abuse Investigations and Review and an outside investigator, including multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain information from the accuser, concluded the allegations "cannot be substantiated." The cardinal added he resolves to see Sullivan's "good name restored" and that "healing now must be the pathway forward for all of us."

While many canon law experts believe the norms in Vos Estis represent a turning point in the church's efforts to hold bishops accountable, others believe much could be improved upon, including greater transparency on disclosing when investigations are taking place, the need to mandate the use of lay experts, and clarity on the status of bishops removed from office following an investigation.

the Canadian bishops have rolled out a new online reporting system where complaints, either of sexual abuse or coverup, against the Church’s shepherds can be made. Called the “Canadian Reporting System for Sexual Abuse or Cover-up by a Catholic Bishop."

Archdiocesan attorneys moved for damages from the accuser's attorneys, arguing that they willfully violated a ban on initiating litigation against the church, which automatically took effect when the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That prompted the accuser's lawyers to remove the archdiocese from the lawsuit, leaving the priest and an insurance company as the remaining defendants.

The introduction of “vulnerable adults” into Church law means that we couldn’t continue work only in child protection anymore. We need to include also the dignity and care for e.g. a seminarian who is exploited by the Rector or a 35-year-old laywoman who goes to a priest for spiritual direction because she’s fighting with her husband.