Posted on 12/16/2002 6:15:10 AM PST by NYer
VATICAN CITY (AP) _ The Vatican gave its approval Monday to the revised U.S. bishops' policy to combat sex abuse in the clergy, declaring the need to restore the image of the priesthood in a scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Approval had been expected after differences in the original plan were worked out by a joint U.S.-Vatican commission in November.
The Vatican released a letter from Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, pledging the Holy See's support to ``combat and to prevent such evil.'' The Vatican announcement came three days after Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law as archbishop of Boston, removing a figure who was a flash point for victims' groups, lay Catholics and some priests.
Re said ``it appears necessary to devote every available resource to restoring the public image of the Catholic priesthood.'' The Italian prelate, who heads the Congregation of Bishops, called sex abuse ``one of the most serious offenses'' a priest can commit and noted that the American policy can lead to dismissal from the priesthood.
Touching on some of the Vatican's original objections, Re also said the revised policy protects ``inviolable human rights'' of the accused. Re said that the Vatican _ together with the bishops of the United States _ ``feels duty-bound'' to defend ``the good name of the overwhelming majority of priests and deacons.'' The cardinal asked the American bishops to continue their meetings with the heads of religious orders who have raised several issues of concern about their members coming under the policy. In any case, the policy comes up for review in two years.
Re's letter stressed that the Vatican will not tolerate sex abuse crimes against children, saying that the pope has affirmed ``the Holy See's aversion to this betrayal of the trust which the faithful rightly place in Christ's ministers, and to ensure that the guilty will be appropriately punished.'' ``As the Holy Father has affirmed on various occasions, the Holy See is spiritually united to the victims of abuse and to their families and encourages particular concern for them on the part of the bishops, priests and the whole Catholic community.''
The bishops drafted a set of norms against sex abuse at a meeting in Dallas in June, but the Vatican refused to give its ``recognitio,'' or approval, saying that some regulations contrasted with universal Church law. The Vatican was concerned about priests' receiving due protection and about the statute of limitations. This led to a meeting at the Vatican in November with U.S. Church officials to iron out their differences. The revised plan was then approved by the bishops conference and awaited Monday's announcement.
The U.S. bishops say that the revised guidelines still require guilty clerics to be removed from public ministry _ saying Mass, teaching in Catholic schools, wearing a Roman collar _ after a single case of abuse with a minor. The policy allows bishops to conduct a confidential, preliminary inquiry when a molestation claim is made to determine whether it is plausible. If it is, the accused priest is to be put on leave, then must go before a clerical tribunal to determine his guilt or innocence. The old policy that the bishops approved in Dallas five months ago allowed church leaders to pull priests out of their jobs as soon as they were accused. Vatican officials expressed concern the approach denied priests due process.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests have criticized the revised rules, saying they give too much discretion to bishops, whose negligence caused the molestation crisis. Under the new policy, bishops can also ask the Vatican to waive the church's statute of limitations, which requires victims to come forward by age 28. Bishops are compelled to obey local civil law on reporting abuse claims, but not more than that. The church leaders, however, have pledged to report all allegations involving children to civil authorities. Review boards including lay people will monitor how dioceses respond to abuse, but the policy stresses that only bishops can manage clergy.
AP-ES-12-16-02 0833EST
Now that the US policy has been adopted, do you suppose it will serve as a model for other countries and what measures, if any, will be taken to implement it worldwide. The abuse is not relegated to the US.
The important thing is that there is finally a guarantee of the rights of the accused.
If that hadn't happened, then VOTF could have just compiled an enemy's list of conservative priests and accused them all randomly of abuse.
It is interesting you had that thought, I've been thinking the same thing.
I have been suspicious of VOTF from the first time I heard of them. They just seemed to spring to life full grown and ready to go! I don't believe that it was a 'kitchen table' group that suddenly went national anymore than I believe that of the Million Mom March. I keep hearing rumors of 'Call to Action' involvement in the forming of VOTF, and that bothers me greatly. It is like CTA couldn't get people to join on its own, so it had to push this other group to take advantage of the average Catholic's righteous anger over the cases of abuse. I think they figure that if they get Catholics disgusted enough, they can put their agenda for change in Church in place without too much interference.
And rightly so. Click here for an update from the list of dissenting organizations, maintained by Ourladyswarriors web site.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.