The idea is to prevent clergy members in positions of authority from preying on often vulnerable congregants who are turning to faith leaders for emotional, mental or even physical guidance. Consent is not a defense for clergy members accused of sexual battery, the legislation says, and it establishes misdemeanor and felony charges for adult sexual abuse by clergy. “If you have someone who is acting as a voice of God, and is representing themselves in a place of power in a church or temple as being a conduit or vessel through which God’s voice speaks, that’s not really consent,” he continued. “You can’t consent to an intimate relationship under those circumstances.”

In an interview for a book published in October, Pope Francis pushed back against the idea that changes to Church practice such as introducing female deacons or optional priestly celibacy would help boost vocations. Asked about women’s ordination bringing “more people closer to the Church” and optional priestly celibacy helping with priest shortages, Pope Francis said he does not share these views. “Lutherans ordain women, but still few people go to church,” Pope Francis said. “Their priests can marry, but despite that, they can’t grow the number of ministers. The problem is cultural. We should not be naive and think that programmatic changes will bring us the solution.”