Bishops approve revised sex-abuse rules

Christian Century, Nov 20, 2002 by Kevin Eckstrom

CAPPING A YEARLONG drama of anguish, the U.S. Catholic bishops gave final approval to a sweeping set of reforms aimed at ending the sexual-abuse crisis that has rocked their church and tarnished their credibility for what may be years to come.

The bishops, gathered in the nation's capital, voted overwhelmingly to accept get-tough policies that were initially adopted in Dallas last June and then revised by a joint U.S.-Vatican panel in October. The package approved November 13 was sent to Rome for guaranteed approval.

Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, whose transfers of known pedophile priests sparked the scandal, said the new rules will help move the church forward. "Our work isn't done," Law said. "But thank God we are where we are. We're in a much better place than we were ten months ago."

But survivors groups, angry that they were shut out of the four-day meeting in Washington, said the revised abuse package is a step backward. They are especially upset that lay involvement has been scaled back, and dislike changes that give bishops more discretion in evaluating abuse allegations.

"They've put themselves first," said Peter Isely, a co-founder of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "This makes it even more difficult, even more discouraging, for a victim to come forward."

Bishops, however, said the two-part package--a charter that outlines their goals, and canon laws, or norms, that equip them to act--gives them the tools they need to keep abusive priests out of parishes and away from children.

The norms were approved in a vote of 246-7, with six abstentions.

The prelates, weary of the scandal that has simmered for years and erupted in January, clearly want to move on to other business. The scandal has seen the removal of some 300 priests this year, and left many of the country's 62 million Catholics embarrassed and seething in anger at church leaders.

The scandal has demoralized priests and devastated church finances in some quarters, and spurred the growth of lay-led reform groups demanding change. Many of those groups, however, remain disappointed that bishops who allowed the problem to fester are still in office.

The Vatican-ordered changes to the documents reflected a concern that accused priests' legal rights had been overlooked. Still, even with the changes, the bulk of the bishops' original Dallas plan remains intact.

Under the new rules, lay-led review boards will help assess abuse claims as "confidential consultative" bodies to the bishops. Under the original plans, lay boards alone decided how to handle abuse cases. Bishops are still required to report abuse cases to civil authorities and refrain from confidential settlement agreements.

The Vatican retained a ten-year statute of limitations--the object of a major complaint from abuse groups--but could waive it for "appropriate pastoral reasons." Bishops who helped negotiate the changes said the Vatican would hear such requests "syrup athetically."

Accused priests will be tried in a court of their peers, and the norms spell out their legal options in greater detail. But, in a major concession to the Americans, bishops have the administrative fight to withhold assignments from any "offending cleric" who is deemed "unsuitable."

Bishops no longer have the power to reassign abusive priests, even if they have undergone treatment and have been reformed. In addition, tribunals--not bishops--will decide the fate of offending priests.

Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Galante of Dallas said, "Yes, we give up some of our discretionary power. That's the least we could do for having misused it before."

Some bishops argued that it was a mistake to deny the power of conversion and repentance for abusive priests. But even supporters of second chances, such as Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, said the church would never accept "reformed" priests. "We had no choice but to give that up," he said.

In a separate statement on accountability, the bishops acknowledged "our mistakes in the past when some bishops have transferred from one assignment to another priests who had abused minors. We recognize our role in the suffering this has caused. We apologize for it."

Several important questions remain unanswered, however, including how the rules apply--if they do--to priests in religious orders, who represent one-third of U.S. priests.

Bishop James Moynihan of Syracuse, New York, wanted to know how the tribunals will be organized and trained. "We're opening a tremendous can of worms, and we have no idea what's going to be involved in all of it," he said.