Bishops' 'zero-tolerance' policy faces test

In a recent issue of the Jesuit weekly America, the Rev. John P. Beal, associate professor of canon law at Catholic University of America in Washington, identified what he termed "profoundly disturbing" aspects of the Dallas charter, including:

• A definition of sexual abuse that is "exceedingly broad and vague."

• Lack of any criteria for judging what is a "credible" allegation, which determines whether a priest must be put on administrative leave.

• Elimination of statutes of limitations, which many believe serve a useful legal purpose and are present in canon law.

Many remain concerned that the zero tolerance policy treats all instances of abuse alike, whereas church law calls for punishment proportionate to the offense. They are distressed that priests with one decades-old instance of abuse should be mustered out of the priesthood along with serial molesters.

"There needs to be some proportionality brought into the policy so not everyone is painted by the same brush," says Father Silva.

David Clohessy, executive director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests sees this as a misguided argument. "People make the mistake of thinking this is about punishing priests. Instead, it's about protecting kids," he says. "It's dangerous to assume that one known allegation means there's only one incident; that's virtually never the pattern."

An early sign that the Dallas charter faced rough seas came last summer, when the leaders of men's religious orders agreed to go along with its "values and principles" but stopped short of applying it fully. Bishops have jurisdiction over clerics in parish ministry, while one-third of US priests fall under major superiors of religious orders. Those priests generally operate in places such as schools, seminaries, or hospitals, rather than in dioceses.

At their August meeting, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) pledged to remove offending priests from public ministry, but not from the priesthood altogether.

Because an order is a living witness to community, or family, says the Rev. Ted Keating, executive director of CMSM, "even if someone committed sexual abuse and went to prison, that is not alone grounds for dismissal according to canon law." There is a responsibility to encourage treatment and rehabilitation, and only if men refuse to accept responsibility for their actions would there be grounds for removal.

This policy actually protects children more effectively, Father Keating contends. "If we dump men on the street on their own, the first thing they'll do is regress, and perhaps go back to abuse."

While the Vatican response could put the bishops' policy in limbo, priests would still face the scrutiny of a new process to monitor their compliance, and the glare of media attention.

(Material from Reuters was used in this report.)

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