26/04/02
The Tablet
Cardinals debate âzero tolerance' of clerical sex abuse
An emergency meeting of 12 American cardinals in Rome ended on Wednesday after two days of debate over "zero-tolerance" for priests who sexually abuse children. The cardinals were told by the Pope on Tuesday that as well as being "an appalling sin in the eyes of God", sexual abuse was "justly considered a crime". People needed to know, the Pope added, that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young". But he added that, at least in some cases, such behaviour could be reversed. "We cannot forget the power of Christian conversion" which "can work extraordinary change", he said (See Documentation, p.29, for the Pope's address in full).
The cardinals must now debate the implications of the Pope's words with the 300-odd bishops in the United States, reports Robert Mickens from Rome. The question will turn on whether or not to institute a "one-strike-you're-out" policy for offenders, something that could only be made binding in all dioceses by a mandate of the Holy See. The question of how to deal with clerical sex abuse of minors will form part of a wide-ranging review which American bishops will take up in June when they gather in Dallas for their annual conference meeting. It is believed that Vatican officials gave the American cardinals who came to Rome parameters within which to form those discussions.
Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, told journalists there was a difference between those who prey on young children and "an individual who, perhaps under the influence of alcohol", engages in inappropriate behaviour with "a 16- or 17-year-old young woman who returns his affections". The cardinal said civil law considers both to be crimes (in most American states anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor) but "in terms of the culpability and the possibility for a reform of one's life, they are two very different sets of circumstances". Cardinal George asked: "Given the civil law, can we make such a distinction in ecclesiastical policy?"
The Pope issued no apology to those who have been abused by priests, but he echoed their anguish. "To the victims and their families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity and concern", he said. He also acknowledged that clerical sex abuse had placed a cloud over the whole Church. "Because of the great harm done by some priests and religious", he told the American cardinals, "the Church herself is viewed with distrust."
The Pope also acknowledged that people were "offended at the way in which the Church's leaders are perceived to have acted in this matter". He said the bishops may have made "decisions which subsequent events showed to be wrong", but he attributed this to their ignorance of "the nature of the problem" and the "advice of clinical experts". Furthermore, he said, sexual abuse of the young should be viewed in the context of "a deep-seated crisis of sexual morality" affecting society as a whole.
All but one of the 13 American cardinals - as well as the president, vice-president and general secretary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) - attended the meetings. Although the Holy See press office had named only three cardinals of the Roman Curia - Joseph Ratzinger (doctrine), Giovanni Battista Re (bishops) and DarÃo Castrillón Hoyos (clergy) - as participants in the talks, the day before the event it published an expanded list. This named the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and the heads of four more curial offices: Cardinals Eduardo Somalo (religious life), Jorge Medina Estévez (worship), Zenon Grocholewski (education and seminaries) and Archbishop Julian Herranz (legislative texts).
The closed-door "summit", which was broken up into four sessions that spanned two mornings and afternoons, was held in the Sala Bologna near the papal apartment and private study. Cardinal Sodano, who chaired the meetings, opened the first gathering on Tuesday, and then invited the first several American cardinals to give prepared speeches. Pope John Paul spoke at the end of the first morning session. In the evening of Tuesday the Americans concluded their comments and then returned to work out proposals for a new set of criteria in dealing with priests who abuse minors. On Wednesday morning they held free-ranging discussions with the Vatican officials, before breaking for lunch with the Pope. The concluding session was held late on the afternoon of Wednesday, the second day.
The crisis over sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy has overwhelmed the Church in the United States since the end of January. Cardinal Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston, whose decisions to reassign at least two abusing priests have placed him at the heart of the crisis, apologised to his fellow American cardinals the night before the Vatican meetings began. It was because of "some terrible mistakes" he had made that the cardinals were now all in Rome, he told them. But Boston's battered archbishop, who has discussed with the Pope the possibility of his resigning, seems to have been bolstered by the Vatican summit. Despite a Los Angeles Times report on the eve of the gathering that an "anonymous" cardinal and a group of prelates favoured Cardinal Law resigning, participants at the meetings said the topic never came up. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington DC, said: "We've passed that point in the discussions. The time for that would have been at the beginning. We're over that."
The mood of the meeting, according to Cardinal George, was "serious, even sombre". Topics discussed included the reassignment of priests who have abused children, the observance of celibacy, seminary screening and formation, and the high number of homosexuals in the priesthood. The USCCB president, Bishop Wilton Gregory, said there was an "ongoing effort to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men" and that "not only is it not dominated by homosexual men, but the candidates that we receive are healthy in every possible way: psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually".
Cardinal George said the question should not be whether a candidate for the priesthood is homosexual or not, but whether "he is capable of marriage and family, because an ordained priest is a married man" with the Church as his bride. He said bishops should ask whether candidates have "reserves of generativity and generosity" and could see themselves as being married and bringing forth new life. He said celibacy had been discussed, "not in questioning the rule for the Church", he made clear, "but asking how can we strengthen it".
But the main issue was how to deal with abuser priests. Bishop Gregory suggested that an alternative to a draconian "zero-tolerance" policy would be to allow largely lay diocesan review boards to assist the bishop in deciding whether to reinstate an accused priest. Such a board would consider "mitigating circumstances" while still providing a "prudent and transparent solution" which ensured that children were out of risk of harm. Cardinal George also supported lay involvement in implementing abuse policies. "It seems to me to be clear that the more lay people and others - including the relatives of victims - are involved in applying the policies, the more credibility the actions of the bishop might himself have", he said.
But Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, said he read the Pope's speech as support for a zero-tolerance policy. "You can convert hearts and offer reconciliation, but you cannot reassign" priest-abusers, he told journalists. The Pope, he added, "is being as clear as he can be: there is no place for abusers in the priesthood".
Behind the scenes of the summit, a battle was waged between officials from the US bishops' conference and those at the Holy See press office over the nature, number and venue of briefings for journalists. The American bishops and cardinals, whom some Vatican officials have accused of being too open with the press, were insisting on making information available to the public. After some discussion it was decided that briefings would take place twice a day, not at the Vatican press hall, but at the North American College - the nearby residence for American seminarians in Rome. In the end, however, those press meetings were curtailed to a preliminary press conference the day before the summit and a briefing after the cardinals' first session on Tuesday. American officials said the cardinals were "too busy" to keep to the arrangement agreed beforehand, a move interpreted as a victory for those Vatican officials who view the scandal in the United States as a media "witch hunt" against the Catholic Church.
The Tablet
Cardinals debate âzero tolerance' of clerical sex abuse
An emergency meeting of 12 American cardinals in Rome ended on Wednesday after two days of debate over "zero-tolerance" for priests who sexually abuse children. The cardinals were told by the Pope on Tuesday that as well as being "an appalling sin in the eyes of God", sexual abuse was "justly considered a crime". People needed to know, the Pope added, that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young". But he added that, at least in some cases, such behaviour could be reversed. "We cannot forget the power of Christian conversion" which "can work extraordinary change", he said (See Documentation, p.29, for the Pope's address in full).
The cardinals must now debate the implications of the Pope's words with the 300-odd bishops in the United States, reports Robert Mickens from Rome. The question will turn on whether or not to institute a "one-strike-you're-out" policy for offenders, something that could only be made binding in all dioceses by a mandate of the Holy See. The question of how to deal with clerical sex abuse of minors will form part of a wide-ranging review which American bishops will take up in June when they gather in Dallas for their annual conference meeting. It is believed that Vatican officials gave the American cardinals who came to Rome parameters within which to form those discussions.
Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, told journalists there was a difference between those who prey on young children and "an individual who, perhaps under the influence of alcohol", engages in inappropriate behaviour with "a 16- or 17-year-old young woman who returns his affections". The cardinal said civil law considers both to be crimes (in most American states anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor) but "in terms of the culpability and the possibility for a reform of one's life, they are two very different sets of circumstances". Cardinal George asked: "Given the civil law, can we make such a distinction in ecclesiastical policy?"
The Pope issued no apology to those who have been abused by priests, but he echoed their anguish. "To the victims and their families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity and concern", he said. He also acknowledged that clerical sex abuse had placed a cloud over the whole Church. "Because of the great harm done by some priests and religious", he told the American cardinals, "the Church herself is viewed with distrust."
The Pope also acknowledged that people were "offended at the way in which the Church's leaders are perceived to have acted in this matter". He said the bishops may have made "decisions which subsequent events showed to be wrong", but he attributed this to their ignorance of "the nature of the problem" and the "advice of clinical experts". Furthermore, he said, sexual abuse of the young should be viewed in the context of "a deep-seated crisis of sexual morality" affecting society as a whole.
All but one of the 13 American cardinals - as well as the president, vice-president and general secretary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) - attended the meetings. Although the Holy See press office had named only three cardinals of the Roman Curia - Joseph Ratzinger (doctrine), Giovanni Battista Re (bishops) and DarÃo Castrillón Hoyos (clergy) - as participants in the talks, the day before the event it published an expanded list. This named the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and the heads of four more curial offices: Cardinals Eduardo Somalo (religious life), Jorge Medina Estévez (worship), Zenon Grocholewski (education and seminaries) and Archbishop Julian Herranz (legislative texts).
The closed-door "summit", which was broken up into four sessions that spanned two mornings and afternoons, was held in the Sala Bologna near the papal apartment and private study. Cardinal Sodano, who chaired the meetings, opened the first gathering on Tuesday, and then invited the first several American cardinals to give prepared speeches. Pope John Paul spoke at the end of the first morning session. In the evening of Tuesday the Americans concluded their comments and then returned to work out proposals for a new set of criteria in dealing with priests who abuse minors. On Wednesday morning they held free-ranging discussions with the Vatican officials, before breaking for lunch with the Pope. The concluding session was held late on the afternoon of Wednesday, the second day.
The crisis over sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy has overwhelmed the Church in the United States since the end of January. Cardinal Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston, whose decisions to reassign at least two abusing priests have placed him at the heart of the crisis, apologised to his fellow American cardinals the night before the Vatican meetings began. It was because of "some terrible mistakes" he had made that the cardinals were now all in Rome, he told them. But Boston's battered archbishop, who has discussed with the Pope the possibility of his resigning, seems to have been bolstered by the Vatican summit. Despite a Los Angeles Times report on the eve of the gathering that an "anonymous" cardinal and a group of prelates favoured Cardinal Law resigning, participants at the meetings said the topic never came up. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington DC, said: "We've passed that point in the discussions. The time for that would have been at the beginning. We're over that."
The mood of the meeting, according to Cardinal George, was "serious, even sombre". Topics discussed included the reassignment of priests who have abused children, the observance of celibacy, seminary screening and formation, and the high number of homosexuals in the priesthood. The USCCB president, Bishop Wilton Gregory, said there was an "ongoing effort to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men" and that "not only is it not dominated by homosexual men, but the candidates that we receive are healthy in every possible way: psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually".
Cardinal George said the question should not be whether a candidate for the priesthood is homosexual or not, but whether "he is capable of marriage and family, because an ordained priest is a married man" with the Church as his bride. He said bishops should ask whether candidates have "reserves of generativity and generosity" and could see themselves as being married and bringing forth new life. He said celibacy had been discussed, "not in questioning the rule for the Church", he made clear, "but asking how can we strengthen it".
But the main issue was how to deal with abuser priests. Bishop Gregory suggested that an alternative to a draconian "zero-tolerance" policy would be to allow largely lay diocesan review boards to assist the bishop in deciding whether to reinstate an accused priest. Such a board would consider "mitigating circumstances" while still providing a "prudent and transparent solution" which ensured that children were out of risk of harm. Cardinal George also supported lay involvement in implementing abuse policies. "It seems to me to be clear that the more lay people and others - including the relatives of victims - are involved in applying the policies, the more credibility the actions of the bishop might himself have", he said.
But Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, said he read the Pope's speech as support for a zero-tolerance policy. "You can convert hearts and offer reconciliation, but you cannot reassign" priest-abusers, he told journalists. The Pope, he added, "is being as clear as he can be: there is no place for abusers in the priesthood".
Behind the scenes of the summit, a battle was waged between officials from the US bishops' conference and those at the Holy See press office over the nature, number and venue of briefings for journalists. The American bishops and cardinals, whom some Vatican officials have accused of being too open with the press, were insisting on making information available to the public. After some discussion it was decided that briefings would take place twice a day, not at the Vatican press hall, but at the North American College - the nearby residence for American seminarians in Rome. In the end, however, those press meetings were curtailed to a preliminary press conference the day before the summit and a briefing after the cardinals' first session on Tuesday. American officials said the cardinals were "too busy" to keep to the arrangement agreed beforehand, a move interpreted as a victory for those Vatican officials who view the scandal in the United States as a media "witch hunt" against the Catholic Church.