Pope cracks down on new Catholic religious start-ups

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has taken another step to reign in and regulate new religious groups in the Catholic Church. Francis is taking action after the proliferation of these groups in recent decades led to abuses in governance that allowed spiritual and sexual misconduct to go unchecked. Francis issued a new decree Wednesday that requires prior Vatican approval for bishops to erect new associations of the faithful. These associations are often the first step in the creation of a new apostolic society or institute of consecrate life. Francis has taken action in recent years after some founders and leaders of religious orders and new lay institutes turned out to be religious frauds who sexually and spiritually abused members.