Criminal Offenses of a Sexual Nature in the Code of Canon Law in the Context of the Latest Legislation of the Holy See

The paper describes the current practice and legislation of the Catholic Church in connection with offenses of a sexual character. Firstly, a clarification is provided of the concept of Canon penal law and the concept of criminal offenses in the system of Canon law in terms of material and formal. Subsequently, the author deals with specific offenses, arising from the acts against the sixth Commandment of the Decalogue and their division according to the kind of violation of the sixth Commandment - directly or indirectly. The author analyses the individual offenses according to the conditions of the perpetration of offenses, their subject, object, imposed penalty and the competent authority for declaring or imposing of the penalty. The author discusses the institute of prescription and the changes in this area (particularly the extension of prescription) in the case of offenses against minors, reserved for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.