Author: Fr. Austin

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New Book: “The Violation of the Principles of Penal Legality and Due Process in Canon Law”

Delighted to find my own work cited in this newly published book—check it out!

La lesione dei principi di legalità penale e del giusto processo nell’ordinamento canonico

Abstract: In recent decades, the criminal law of the Catholic Church has undergone a sharp reversal, moving from the strong procedural guarantees of the 1983 Code of Canon Law to the so-called “zero tolerance” regime, adopted to combat the “scourge” of sexual abuse committed by clerics. This shift, however, has undermined principles universally recognized as essential to “due process.” Focusing particularly on the highly problematic derogation from the statute of limitations provided for such offenses in canon law […] this volume examines the potential civilly significant consequences of canonical processes that violate constitutionally guaranteed rights.

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Rev. Dr. William Richardson (+)

In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of the Rev. Dr. William Richardson, who departed this life on Friday, the 25th of April, in the Year of Our Lord 2025.

He was a good man, a fine priest, and he was my friend.

Requiescat in pace.

Fr. William, immediately to my right, on the day of my doctoral defense at KU Leuven (26 Feb. 2020).

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Doctoral defence

By the grace of God, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation in canon law! It lasted a little under two hours. The recording begins with my presentation of the dissertation (20 min.), followed by questions from the five judges (1h30m).