Sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy
Church reaction: 2002-AUG to now
Sponsored link.
News items:
 |
2002-SEP-16: USA: Roman Catholic review panel to identify
non-compliant U.S. bishops: Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating heads up
the church-appointed National Review Board whose mandate is to
review each of the Roman Catholic dioceses in the U.S. to check their
compliance with the clerical sex abuse policy established in June by the
bishops. Keating indicated that most dioceses are implementing the plan
properly. However, the committee will shortly reveal the names of bishops
who are failing to comply. According to the victims' advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), 13 of the
nation's 195 dioceses have failed to comply with the new policy. 10
|
|
2002-OCT-18: Vatican: Vatican rejects Bishop's plan: The
Vatican withheld its "recognito" (approval) of the the plan by the U.S.
Roman Catholic bishops to reduce abusive ephebophilia and pedophilia by the
American clergy. The Vatican's main concern is that some priests may be
punished due to "credible" allegations of abuse, before any
wrongdoing is proven. The Vatican believes that the Bishops' "norms" do
not respect due process as described in Canon Law. A U.S. - Vatican
commission will probably be created to resolve outstanding issues. 2
|
|
2002-NOV-4: USA: Modifications to sex abuse policy released: As
a result of discussions with the Vatican, a modified sex abuse draft has
been written. U.S. bishops will vote on the new version during their
NOV-11 to 14 meeting in Washington. The text will then go to the Vatican
for final review. If approved, the policy will be binding on all bishops
and dioceses in the U.S. Changes include:
 |
Bishops will now conduct initial investigations in private.
|
|
If the abuse complaint is credible, the bishop will only report the
case to authorities if required by state law.
|
|
The victim(s) are no longer required to be informed about progress in
their case.
|
|
Church tribunals will hear cases in which clerics maintain their
innocence.
|
|
The review board will no longer be required to regularly review each
bishop's abuse policy. |
Response was mixed:
|
Rev. Robert J. Silva is president of the National Federation of
Priests' Councils. It represents 27,000 of the nation's 46,000 clergy.
He said: "it is a good, strong and, I think, effective policy that
protects our children but also is clear about due process and rights for
those who are the accused."
|
|
David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests (SNAP) said the changes "will enable abusive priests to
remain in ministry, and unidentified, longer."
|
|
Susan Archibald, president of The Linkup, a victims' lobby,
said the text is "a return to secrecy [which] perpetuated and fostered
the abuse." 3 |
The old and new texts are posted on the internet so that they can be
easily compared. 4
|
|
2002-NOV-7: USA: Bishops select clergy abuse monitor: The U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops selected Kathleen McChesney to hold the
new church post of director of the Office for Child and Youth
Protection. She currently holds the post within the FBI as executive
assistant director for law enforcement services. Her task has been to
improve the relationship between federal and local law enforcement. The
Rev. Robert J. Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests'
Councils, commented: "I hope that she will be able to balance that
aggressive investigative side with a sense of church discipleship and the
mission of reconciliation." 5
|
|
2002-NOV-13: USA: Revised policy on sex abuse accepted: By a
vote of 246 to 7, with six abstentions, bishops voted to approve a new
plan which satisfies Vatican concerns about the rights of accused priests.
Under the new regulations, priests will be assured of due process. When a
molestation claim is made, a bishop will be able to conduct a
confidential, preliminary inquiry to determine whether it is plausible. If
it is, the priest is to be put on leave and must appear before a clerical
tribunal. Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of Those
Abused by Priests (SNAP) was critical of the policy. She said: "The
gulf between bishops and the victims and lay people in the church has
grown wider by the vote today." 6
|
|
2002-DEC-4: MA: Boston Archdiocese may declare bankruptcy: According to Best's Insurance News, "A recent proposal by the Boston
Archdiocese to seek bankruptcy protection as a way to limit payments in
the ongoing sexual abuse scandal will drag insurers along with the church
into bankruptcy court. On DEC 4, the finance council of the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Boston voted to allow the archdiocese to 'pursue
reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code, if the
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston ultimately deems such action necessary
to ensure an expeditious and equitable global settlement for the victims
of sexual abuse by priests of the archdiocese,' the archdiocese said in
a statement." The Vatican would have to pre-approve such a
declaration. Four insurance companies, Kemper, Travelers, U.S. Fire &
Marine, and Gulf Insurance, and over 220 plaintiffs are involved. The
insurance companies are speculating that because of the Archdiocese's
cover-up policies at the time that the policies were taken out, that the
companies might not have been adequately informed of the potential risks
at the time. The policies may not be fully valid. 7
|
|
2002-DEC-13: MA: Cardinal Law resigned: Cardinal Bernard F. Law
resigned as archbishop of Boston. His resignation was prompted in part by
a letter requesting this action by 58 priests out of the approximately 560
priests in the archdiocese. He has temporarily been replaced by Bishop
Richard G. Lennon, the rector of the archdiocese's principal seminary.
Cardinal Law said: "I am profoundly grateful to the Holy Father for
having accepted my resignation as archbishop of Boston. It is my fervent
prayer that this action may help the archdiocese of Boston to experience
the healing, reconciliation and unity which are so desperately needed. To
all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes, I both
apologize and from them beg forgiveness." 8
|
|
2002-DEC-14: Vatican: Cardinal Ratzinger accuses U.S. media of
distortion: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith told journalists: "I am
personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins
of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned
campaign, as the percentage of these offences among priests is not higher
than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower... In the United
States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1% of priests
are guilty of acts of this type...The constant presence of these news
items does not correspond to the objectivity of the information nor to the
statistical objectivity of the facts. Therefore, one comes to the
conclusion that it is intentional, manipulated, that there is a desire to
discredit the Church. It is a logical and well-founded conclusion." 9
|
Sponsored link:
|
2004-NOV-25: WA: Spokane diocese plans to file for bankruptcy: Earlier in November, the Spokane Diocese announced that it plans to file
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Bishop William Skylstad said that the Roman
Catholic diocese was facing a number of pending and potential lawsuits
that would cost more than it could afford. Five insurance companies
filed a lawsuit on NOV-23 saying that they should not have to pay the
diocese because copies of some insurance policies could not be found and
because church officials had been aware of warnings against the abusive
priests but didn't stop them. The lawsuit said that: "The diocese
made conscious decisions not to protect children." It alleges that "O'Donnell's
continuing abuse of children and their injury were natural consequences
of the Diocese's conscious and intentional decision to leave O'Donnell
in a position with unrestricted access to, and contact with, children."
It focused mainly on Rev. Patrick O'Donnell, who served as a priest in
Spokane from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. He has allegedly admitted
in a deposition that he abused 30 or more boys while a priest. 10
|
|
2005-APR-09: Members of advocacy group
to protest Cardinal Bernard Law's mass: Barbara Blaine,
president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) objects to Cardinal Bernard Law's scheduled mass on APR-11. Law
allegedly move priests accused of sexual abuse of children from parish
to parish in Massachusetts without disclosing allegations against them.
SNAP suggests that Law should not be permitted to lead one of the nine
daily Masses. Blain said: "It's like rubbing salt into the wounds of
the victims." A group of SNAP members are traveling to Rome where
they plan to distribute pamphlets outside of the basilica and meet with
U.S. cardinals. Blaine said that the sex abuse issue "has to be
confronted, and it hasn't been from our perspective. It's been swept
under the rug. Far too many perpetrators remain in ministry. The church
needs the voice of the victims to sanctify itself." 11
|
|
2005-JUN-16: U.S. Conference of Bishops
are scheduled to meet: The Bishops will meet from JUN-16 to 18 in
Chicago. Their main task is the finalization of the "Charter for the
Protection of Children and Young People" which the issued in draft form in 2002. They will also decide whether to allocate as much as one million dollars
on a study of the causes of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
ReligionLink suggests that: "...several other recent developments
also could influence the crisis and the Catholic priesthood. Most
prominent is Pope Benedict XVI's election and the selection of an
American archbishop to succeed him at the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. Other elements...include an expected Vatican review of
American seminaries, a possible Vatican document on homosexuals in the
priesthood, the oversight of local diocesan abuse policies and the
continuing legal and financial troubles in many U.S. dioceses." |
References used:
-
"Panel to identify noncompliant bishops,"
Associated Press, 2002-SEP-16, at: http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/
-
Philip Pullella, "Vatican Won't Bless U.S.
Bishops' Pedophilia Plan," 2002-OCT-17, at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news
-
Richard Ostling, "New Church Sex-Abuse Draft
Released," Associated Press, 2002-NOV-4, at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news
-
"Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial
Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or
Deacons: Comparative Text," United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops at: http://www.usccb.org/comm/compare.htm
-
Richard Ostling, "Bishops to Name Clergy
Abuse Monitor," Associated Press, 2002-NOV-8, at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
-
Richard Ostling, "U.S. bishops set policy on
sex abuse; Vatican demanded protection for priests," Associated Press,
2002-NOV-13.
-
John Hillman, "Boston Archdiocese Considers
Bankruptcy, Dragging Insurers Toward Court," Best's Insurance News,
2002-DEC-5.
-
Peter Popham, "US cardinal resigns over abuse
scandal," 2002-DEC-14, at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/
-
"Ratzinger sees media vendetta against Church,"
Catholic News (Australia), 2002-DEC-5.
-
Janet Tu, "5 insurers sue Spokane diocese
over settlements," The Seattle Times, 2004-NOV-25.
-
"Protests planned for controversial cardinal's
Mass. Former archbishop of Boston resigned in abuse scandal," CNN News,
2005-APR-09, at: http://www.cnn.com/
-
"Clergy abuse update: The Catholic Church
faces new steps in dealing with scandal," ReligionLink.org,
2005-MAY-31, at: http://www.religionlink.org/
Site navigation:
Copyright © 2002 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-MAR-25
Latest update: 2011-SEP-20
Author: B.A. Robinson
Sponsored link
|
Page Translator: