Pope Sets New Rules To Report And Investigate Sex Abuse
CAMEROTA: OK, we have some breaking news at this hour. Pope Francis issuing a new law holding bishops accountable for sex abuse or cover- ups. CNN's Delia Gallagher is live in Rome with all the breaking details. What are you learning, Delia?</s>DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, this is essentially a universal reporting system that is being decreed by the Vatican that all Catholic dioceses around the world must comply with by June of 2020. Two important points of this new policy. One is that it is now mandatory to report cover-up if that cover-up involves somebody in church leadership -- a cardinal or a bishop. There is a separate system which will allow them to be investigated. These investigations, the Vatican say, must take place within 90 days. The report must be sent to the Vatican. So they're putting a time line on this to help streamline this process. The other important point is that all dioceses around the world must have in effect by June of 2020 a public and accessible system for victims to be able to report abuses and cover-up. This is something, Alisyn and John, that in the English-speaking world has been in effect for some time. But we saw in February at the global meeting on sex abuse at the Vatican that there are many countries around the world that still do not have this in effect. So, the Vatican, from the top down, is decreeing that this is going to be the procedure from here on out. It's going to go into effect June first for a 3-year trial period. It remains to be seen, of course, how well this is going to be implemented on the ground, but this is the next step from Pope Francis in his concrete measures to fight sex abuse -- John.</s>BERMAN: It's a step, but it's the follow-through that really matters here. Delia Gallagher for us in Rome. Thank you so much. So just days after a deadly school shooting in Colorado, one 2020 candidate is out with an ambitious gun control plan. John Avlon breaks down Sen. Cory Booker's proposal in our reality check -- John.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: America has suffered two fatal school shootings in the past 10 days and lest we forget, kids getting shot by kids at school isn't normal. I want you to listen to this 12-year-old survivor of Highlands Park, Nate Holley.</s>NATE HOLLEY, SIXTH GRADER, STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH, HIGHLANDS RANCH, COLORADO: I was going to go down fighting if I was going to go down.</s>AVLON: And this brave kid was one of the lucky ones. Twenty years ago when the Columbine killings occurred, a mass shooting at a school seemed a horrific aberration. But in the past 20 years, there have been shootings at 234 schools, according to data compiled by "The Washington Post." And this total doesn't include colleges. At least 144 students, teachers, and other people have been killed in these assaults and more than 300 injured. And the median age of the shooter, 16. This is an American epidemic and it's getting worse. The locations of the deadliest mass school shootings have been scarred in our minds -- Sandy Hook, Parkland -- but the vast majority of them fade from memory. What can't be forgotten is that we haven't been able to summon the political will to stem the bleeding. And yes, this can be done consistent with the Second Amendment. Even the landmark Heller decision written by Justice Scalia recognized, quote, "...an important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms" like the "historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons." So, it's notable that the first big-picture gun control proposal has been put forward by a 2020 candidate. Senator Cory Booker, former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has laid down a sweeping plan that he says will help end the gun violence epidemic in America. And at the heart of the proposal is a national program requiring people get a license to buy and carry a gun, much like people are required to have a license to drive a car. Basically, a person would have to be fingerprinted, pass a universal background check, and complete a certified gun safety course before they take possession of a firearm. The license would need to be renewed every five years. Now, similar programs have been put in place in countries like Australia and Canada. They've also been implemented in states like Connecticut where studies show that gun killings fell 40 percent in the first decade after a "permit to purchase" law was implemented. Now, critics call Booker's plan dangerous, pointing out that it could lead to the creation of a federal gun owner database, long the subject of NRA fears and fundraising. Speaking of the NRA, Booker is also proposing to go after them, saying that as president, he'll ask the IRS to review the NRA's tax-exempt status. Booker would close gun purchase loopholes and reinstate the assault weapons ban. He's also proposing requiring handguns to be manufactured with technology known as microstamping, which would make shell casings traceable to specific guns to help law enforcement. But there are plenty of practical hurdles. Many of these proposals would require passage through the Senate, which is highly unlikely to have a Democratic filibuster-proof majority after the 2020 elections. There will also be court challenges and cultural barriers, as well as questions on how to deal with mental health. So in some ways, a politically risking plan. Red-state Democrats often cringe at gun reform proposals. But it's bold and may help Booker stand out in a crowded field with a concrete proposal to help stem the tide of gun violence in our country, which is spilling not just into schools but places of worship. Places where even thoughts and prayers can't seem to help. And that's your reality check.</s>CAMEROTA: John, I'm so glad you focused on that. We don't have to live this way. We don't have to send our children to school every day not knowing if they are sitting ducks for a school shooter that day.</s>BERMAN: And this is a subject that comes up on the trail all the time --</s>AVLON: Exactly.</s>BERMAN: -- for these candidates. All right, John.</s>AVLON: Operation lockdown.</s>BERMAN: Thanks very much.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>AVLON: Thanks, guys.</s>CAMEROTA: All right. The made-for-T.V. drama of two actresses caught up in the college admissions scandal is about to be -- well, made for T.V. Details, next.</s>BERMAN: What?</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>BERMAN: Very meta.