Catholic Committee on Abuse Preserves 'Zero-Tolerance' Policy
Opposite to what critics feared, the Roman Catholic Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse decided to preserve a complete ban on church work for priests who molest young people
During a closed-door session in Washington, Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse presented its long-awaited assessment of the child protection plan adopted by Catholic bishops at the height of the clergy sex-abuse scandal in 2002.
The Committee, according to the Associated Press, recommended “preserving a ban on church work for clerics who molest young people” – the “zero-tolerance” policy against sexual offenders, adopted during the Bishops’ Dallas conference, was one of the central parts of the controversial plan.
Victims of assault and victim-protection groups were concerned that the bishops would toss the “zero-tolerance” policy because of its pressures on the clergy. However, Archbishop Harry Flynn, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, said the recommendation makes no such changes.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I think we maintain our promise in Dallas, and it is essential for our own integrity," Flynn said during week's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
According to Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit Magazine, “the fact that the committee is not proposing significant changes in important.”
“That means somebody is going to have to initiate any changes from the floor," he said.
"Normally this body is very deferential to the work of its committees, but when it's on something controversial that the bishops are divided on, then they're going to talk about it and debate it," Reese added, suggesting that bishops will bring the issue out on the floor for discussion.
Reese predicts that some bishops may want to change the definition of sex abuse to something more specific. Currently, in the committee’s draft, entitled, “Workbook for the Review of the Charter For the Protection of Children and Young People,” sex acts that involve no physical contact are also considered punishable offenses.
Later this week, the Bishops will announce the election of new members to the National Review Board – a lay watchdog panel established by the bishops to monitor the reforms.
