A rchive Date
[ 05-11-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Vatican ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/steward.html
The Vatican folds in the war against sexual abuse
By HARTLEY STEWARD -- Toronto Sun
November 5, 2002
Surely the Roman Catholic Church cannot survive the latest Vatican ruling on the disposition of sexual abuse cases involving priests and children.
A committee of four Vatican bishops and four American bishops has thrown out, pretty well completely, the zero-tolerance approach recommended last June by a meeting of U.S. bishops in Dallas, Texas.
The Dallas recommendations put no statute of limitations on dealing with "credible" sexual abuse claims. The new made-in-Rome ruling says all claims made 10 years after the complainant reaches 18 years of age will be dismissed out of hand unless the Vatican makes an exception.
Experts who have reviewed the American abuse claims say this statute of limitations means 85% of claims will never be dealt with.
The Dallas meeting called for a broad definition of sexual abuse which proposed that in some cases a priest need not actually physically touch a child to be considered a violator. The Vatican group has considerably narrowed the definition.
Under the recommendations of the Dallas gathering, panels made up of lay Catholics were empowered to advise bishops on abuse cases and aid in the definition of abuse as it related to specific cases. Only bishops participated in the decision on whether a priest would be removed.
The new Vatican decree will eventually set up tribunals of priests to provide a hearing for their brethren accused of sexual abuse. The advisory role for lay Catholics does not appear to be included in the Rome proposals, although the Vatican disputes this.
The Dallas bishops' recommendations, which were viewed as a genuine attempt to face up to serious problems and, frankly, save the Church's reputation in America - maybe even the Church, itself - have been gutted. There is no other word for it.
Try as one might, it is difficult to see the Vatican moves as anything more than an attempt to continue to minimize and excuse the widespread abuse by priests of children in their care. It appears to be an attempt to move on without coming to grips with this dreadful cancer that infects the Church.
The senior American bishop on the Vatican team, Cardinal Francis George, on his return from Rome, called the proposed changes to the Dallas recommendations "minor."
It is, of course, unfair to speculate on the precise tone and content of the meetings of the eight bishops and their lawyers and advisers in Rome. But is not difficult to imagine them, safe in the bosom of the Vatican, surrounded by the priceless symbols of Roman Catholicism's power and glory, concluding they could get the Church through this latest bad patch without a lot of major concessions.
For sure, it is partly my natural skepticism of any organized religion, but the Vatican revisions of the Dallas recommendations sound like nothing more than the most expedient solution to the mess the Church is in.
The headlines are smaller. The outrage is waning. The details are fading. What is the least we can do?
No one would accuse the Church of trying to protect priests who are obviously guilty of child abuse. Nor can one can blame Church officials for trying to make certain innocent priests aren't falsely accused and prosecuted.
But the new recommendations indicate clearly that a just resolution of the outstanding cases of abuse in the American Roman Catholic Church is low on its priority list.
The Church understands as well as anyone the cycle of guilt, anger, self-recriminations and embarrassment that keeps the sexually abused silent for so many years. The experts have informed the bishops just how many abuse cases can be swept under the rug by the new time limits.
Indeed, who doesn't believe they were calculated to exclude as many as possible?
The Dallas bishops, with a call for zero tolerance and an invitation for lay Catholics to participate in the cleansing process, admitted they could not do the job alone. They admitted the conflicts were too many; the temptations to overlook some offences too strong; the tendency to forgive too ingrained.
But apparently the Vatican has decided to go it alone, despite the fact the status quo has brought the Church to this sorry pass. If the Rome recommendations for dealing with abuse within the Church are adopted, there is little reason to expect justice for thousands of victims.
There is every reason to suspect many abuses will continue unabated and unpunished in the United States as well as in countries much less sophisticated and more vulnerable.
Were I a Catholic, I would pray for the children.
Steward appears Tuesdays and Sundays. E-mail: hartleysteward@canoemail.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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