The Vatican can say what they want but U.S. priests are subject to U.S. law, period.
U.S. priests are subject to U.S. law, period.
Not if their bishops and the church hierarchy covers up the crimes, so U.S. law never finds out about them. THAT’s the pedophilia scandal of the Catholic Church - not the actual cases of abuse, but the criminal coverup by bishops.
Of course you are correct and this is completely in accord with both Vatican and USCCB decrees. There is no disharmony between the sovereign nation of the Holy See and U.S. law on this matter. Any discrepancies from old bits on the books have been rectified 10 years past. Every diocese in this nation has in place strict rules and procedures for any legally-defined mandatory reporter to alert police or CPS (if CPS is the first referral agency in a State) incidents of abuse or reported abuse or suspected abuse. Priests and bishops err on the side of children, now more than ever in history. Keep in mind the Vatican panel in this article is addressing bishops in every country with the variety of laws involved, many of which are outright bizarre compared to the USA.
**U.S. priests are subject to U.S. law, period.**
Flawed thinking, for priests of all countries are concerned with God’s law and are subject to it.