The process of drafting the 1922 Instruction 'Crimen Sollicitationis'

Abstract

This article aims to retrace the evolutionary stages of the 1922 Instruction Crimen Sollicitationis, conceived as a response from the Holy Office to the growing number of solicitation cases. In the analysis of the process of composition of the afore mentioned Instruction, it is highlighted how the same has tried to solve the problem of the suppression of the crime of solicitation, suggesting the necessary tools to address the accusations and to present them to ecclesiastical authority. The Holy Office aimed at facilitating the formulation of complaints, eliminating all those formalities that imposed further suffering on the victim of crime. However, certain protection was also preserved for the accused. In fact, the defects that characterized the previous procedure were eliminated in this regard and the judicial nature of the process was reconfirmed.