Resumen:
Canon Law establishes the general principle of responsibility for damages caused illegitimately and contemplates the exercise of the action for the compensation of damages, especially by the ecclesiastical Administration. But, beyond the formulation of the principle, there is no specific canonical regime regarding administrative responsibility. The crisis of clergy abuse of minors is forcing a new focus on the issue of reparation for damages in the Church and bringing to the fore the aspect of civil liability of ecclesiastical entities. After a canonical approach, the jurisprudence produced in the United States and in Italy in relation to the crimes of abuse of minors by clerics is reviewed, as they constitute two highly significant models in the international scene as a whole.
