Southern African Catholic bishops approved proposals this week to ensure that child sex abuse by church personnel could not be covered up internally.
Measures were approved to ensure that all abuse cases were reported to the appropriate civil authorities, said Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) spokesperson Father Vincent Brennan.
All allegations would first be investigated by a delegated person in a diocese and then referred to a provincial committee, he told reporters in Pretoria.
The committee, chaired by a bishops delegate and including experts such as police members, psychologists, and in some cases child abuse survivors, would then decide whether the case had any merit.
If so the matter would be referred to child welfare authorities, Brennan said.
If the alleged victim was an adult, the same process would be followed and culminate in a report to the police.
"Concealing the truth is unjust to victims, a disservice to offenders and damaging to the church and the wider community," Brennan said.
The SACBC held a plenary assembly meeting in Pretoria for the past week. Other issues on the agenda included church support for HIV and Aids programmes and fighting corruption in the broader community.