Revisions leave U.S. bishops' sexual abuse norms, charter intact

By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- All key provisions of the U.S. bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" are left intact by the recently crafted revisions in the proposed legal norms to implement the charter.

In fact, contrary to widely reported speculation that the revisions would soften or weaken the bishops' actions, the revised version at several points strengthens the hand of a bishop dealing with alleged sexual abuse by one of his priests or deacons.

Especially important in light of controversies this past summer over the applicability of the charter to ordained men in religious orders is a new footnote in the revised document.

"In applying these norms to religious priests and deacons," it says, "the term 'religious ordinary' shall be substituted for the term 'bishop/eparch,' mutatis mutandis (making the necessary changes)." Eparch is the term used for a bishop in the Eastern Catholic churches.

As revised, Norm 12 begins, "No priest or deacon who has committed an act of sexual abuse of a minor may be transferred for ministerial assignment to another diocese/eparch or religious province." The original version made no mention of a prohibition against transfer to another religious province for ministry.

The revised Norm 12 goes on to spell out procedures that must be followed even if such a cleric is simply being moved to another diocese or religious province to reside -- that is, with no ministerial assignment. The new instructions on procedures to follow in such cases are nearly twice as long as those in the original Norm 11, which it replaces.

The revisions were worked out Oct. 29-30 at a meeting in Rome of four representatives of the U.S. bishops and four top Vatican officials. The U.S. bishops, who approved an earlier version of the norms in June, are to debate and vote on the revised version when they meet in Washington Nov. 11-14.

One of the major controversies swirling in the church since the bishops adopted the charter at their June meeting in Dallas has been how to reconcile the church's statute of limitations on prosecuting crimes with the bishops' commitment to remove permanently from ministry any priest found to have sexually abused a child.

The statute of limitations says a cleric cannot be tried for a sexual crime against a minor unless the case is initiated within 10 years after the victim turns 18. The norms the bishops passed in June did not address that problem directly, although the bishops committed themselves to removing any priest who has been found to have abused a child, regardless of when it occurred.

As revised in late October, language was added to one norm, saying that "because sexual abuse of a minor is a grave offense," a bishop faced with a case "barred by prescription" is to apply to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "for a derogation from the prescription."

That's church legalese instructing any bishop faced with a statute of limitations obstacle to go to the doctrinal congregation to get the obstacle lifted, or waived, for that particular case.

Among the revisions is an entirely new norm, No. 9, on a bishop's "executive power" to remove an offending priest even without a trial.

"At all times," says the new norm, "the diocesan bishop/eparch has the executive power of governance, through an administrative act, to remove an offending cleric from office, to remove or restrict his faculties and to limit his exercise of priestly ministry."

"Because sexual abuse of a minor is a crime in all jurisdictions in the United States," it continues, "for the sake of the common good and observing the provisions of canon law, the diocesan bishop/eparch shall exercise this power of governance to ensure that any priest who has committed even one act of sexual abuse of a minor described above shall not continue in active ministry."

An extensive footnote to Norm 9 spells out in detail the various administrative acts the bishop can take to remove a priest or deacon and bar him from ministry or from presenting himself as a cleric, citing the relevant church laws under which the bishop can take such actions.

Another revision is an entirely new norm that provides explicitly for "exceptional cases" in which the bishop or eparch can go directly to the pope and seek "dismissal of the priest or deacon from the clerical state 'ex officio,' even without the consent of the priest or deacon."

Besides invoking the possibility of direct papal intervention, the new Norm 10 says, "The priest or deacon may at any time request a dispensation from the obligations of the clerical state." In practice bishops would ordinarily prefer to have an offending cleric volunteer to resign so they do not have to institute a contentious trial to force his laicization, but that alternative was not explicitly spelled out in the original version of the norms.

One revision that is likely to anger victim advocates is a change in the way an accused priest is treated when an allegation is made.

The original said, "When a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by priests, deacons or other church personnel is made, the alleged offender will be relieved of any ecclesiastical ministry or function. An investigation in harmony with canon law will promptly commence."

In the revision, the preliminary investigation must be completed before a priest or deacon can be removed from his post. Only when it is completed and "there is sufficient evidence that sexual abuse of a minor has occurred" can the accused be removed from ministry.

Upon a finding of sufficient evidence, the revised norm says, the bishop is to notify the doctrinal congregation and "apply the precautionary measures mentioned in Canon 1722 -- i.e., remove the accused from the sacred ministry or from any ecclesiastical office or function, impose or prohibit residence in a given place or territory and prohibit public participation in the most holy Eucharist pending the outcome of the process."

An original norm said a credibly accused priest or deacon should be asked "to undergo appropriate medical and psychological evaluation and intervention, if possible."

The revised version says the alleged offender "may be requested to seek, and may be urged voluntarily to comply with, an appropriate medical and psychological evaluation at a facility mutually acceptable to the diocese/eparchy and to the accused."

On review boards, the revised version repeats the original's call for such boards to be composed of at least five people "of outstanding integrity and good judgment," the majority of whom are lay persons not employed by the diocese or eparchy. It also retains the original call for one member to be a priest and one a person with special expertise in the treatment of the sexual abuse of minors.

The revised version adds, however, that board members must be "in full communion with the church" and that the priest on the board is to be "an experienced and respected pastor of the diocese/eparchy in question."

It also adds, "It is desirable that the promoter of justice participate in the meetings of the review board." In church law the promoter of justice is the diocesan court official responsible for upholding the public good in penal cases and in any cases involving danger to the public good.

One provision of the original norms that was deleted in the revision would have established a system of appellate review boards in each ecclesiastical province -- a group of dioceses under an archdiocese -- that could offer advice on a case if requested by the bishop, the accuser or the accused.

When the bishops adopted the norms in June, they made provision that some priests or deacons who have sexually abused minors may not be dismissed from the clerical state for reasons such as advanced age or infirmity. Where they said those priests will not be permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, the revision added, "or to administer the sacraments."

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-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), November 05, 2002

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