text: Yes, civil laws in many jurisdictions have to change. Australia does not have statutes of limitations for serious crimes - hence Cardinal Pell is on trial for historical offences. But some jurisdictions do have them. Likewise there should be uniform and comprehensive reporting laws everywhere because the Catholic Church is not the only institution that has covered up abuse. The Church is, however, unique in writing the cover up into its own internal laws. A change to civil laws in democratic societies involves far more complicated procedures than Pope Francis has to comply with. He only needs to give an instruction, have it translated into Latin and published on the Acta Aposticae Sedis. That's it.