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Grassroots Catholics Propose Sex Abuse Policy to Bishops

May 29, 2002

 

Chicago, May 29, 2002 -- In contrast to recent statements from Vatican officials recommending to bishops that they not report offenses to law enforcement, and to keep parishes in the dark when an abuser is assigned to them, Call To Action has developed policy recommendations that will protect children and restore confidence in the church.

CTA's Recommendations for Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors, developed with advice from abuse survivors and people with expertise in civil law, church law, priestly formation, therapy, and diocesan sexual abuse policies have been mailed to every U.S. Catholic Bishop and all 25,000 CTA members. CTA, the largest grassroots Catholic Church reform organization in the country, encouraged its members to use the recommendations as a basis for letters to their local bishops leading up to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Dallas, June 13-15.

Endorsement of the recommendations were received from three people who have intimate and long-standing knowledge of the issue. A.W. Richard Sipe is a psychotherapist and author of Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis. Rev. Thomas Doyle is a canon lawyer who worked at the Vatican embassy in Washington, DC and whose proposed plan to the bishops 17 years ago was never implemented. Barbara Blaine is the founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Their comments appear in full at the end of this release.

CTA's approach to the question of "zero tolerance" is to distinguish between felony offenses and misdemeanors. If a priest is found guilty of a felony offense, he should be removed from the priesthood. In cases where a priest is found guilty of a misdemeanor offense, he should serve his sentence, undergo therapy, and then be evaluated by an independent review board to determine whether or not he might be reassigned.

"Distinguishing the seriousness of an offense based on whether it is a felony or misdemeanor is an objective standard that has worked well in the legal system for over 200 years," said Linda Pieczynski, CTA media spokesperson. Pieczynksi is a former Illinois Assistant State's Attorney and a lecturer on child abuse. "Utilizing this standard will enable the Catholic community to be precise about the conduct we will not tolerate in our clergy.

"Why don't we endorse zero tolerance? Zero tolerance for what type of conduct? Zero tolerance policies are generally revised after ridiculous outcomes, such as expelling a second grader who brings a plastic knife to school to spread her peanut butter in contravention of zero tolerance of weapons. If zero tolerance is the rule, there will be attempts to avoid having to apply it in borderline cases. Or survivors might be intimidated by church officials into keeping silent so as to not destroy Father's ministry over a 'minor transgression.' The discretion built into our recommendations will be exercised only by an independent, qualified board, not by diocesan officials," Pieczynski said.

CTA proposes that every diocese establish an independent review board to oversee the handling of sexual abuse cases. Board members should be appointed by the Diocesan Pastoral Council. The majority of the members of the board should be lay people. The U.S. Bishops should also establish an independent National Review Board to audit annually the policies and procedures of every diocese.

Other key points in CTA's recommendations:

Full text of CTA's Recommendations, and details about its symposium can be found on its web site, http://www.cta-usa.org.

In order to demonstrate their commitment to justice for victims of sexual abuse by priests, CTA calls upon bishops to acknowledge the suffering of the victims, no matter how long ago the abuse took place, and to accept responsibility for the cover-up by church authorities.

When the Bishops meet in Dallas to formulate a response to clergy sex abuse, CTA will be there to monitor their response to the outcry from the Catholic community. CTA will be praying for wisdom and justice, and leading a candlelight procession and overnight vigil outside the Bishops' assembly.

"The recommendations for a policy on sexual abuse of minors submitted by Call To Action to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops is so thoughtful, so clear, so direct, so honest, and so wise it is hard to imagine that anyone who cares for the Church will not embrace them wholeheartedly. Anyone with the power to do so should implement them fully. People will trust those who do," said psychotherapist and author A. W. Richard Sipe.

"Whenever lay Catholics lend their support to survivors of sexual abuse by priests, it is both healing and encouraging. The CTA recommendation that Church leaders send victims to law enforcement officials is especially significant. It is time for Church leaders to end their investigations and allow those with expertise with the crime of sexual abuse to investigate allegations. CTA's efforts offer hope to survivors that lay Catholics will stop treating us as enemies, recognize our pain, and assist in our healing, " said Barbara Blaine, founder of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

"The recommended policies and procedures for dealing with sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy are an excellent example of a realistic and potentially effective approach to the problem. I find them to be thorough and easily applicable to any ecclesial entity, diocesan or religious. What most impresses me is the fact that these proposals reflect a needed degree of accountability to the entire Catholic community. They truly reflect the authentic sense of the concept "Good of the Church" rather than an interpretation restricted to the good of the clerical establishment. I totally support the recommendations and like so many, I hope and pray that the bishops give them the most serious consideration, " said canon lawyer Thomas Doyle.

Call To Action is a national organization of 25,000 laity, religious, priests and bishops inspired by the U.S. Bishops 1976 Call To Action conference. It has 40 local chapters. It advocates for reforms in the Catholic Church such as the ordination of women, optional celibacy for priests, more focus on the church's social justice teaching, and consultation with the Catholic people on church decision-making. Their comprehensive web site is at http://www.cta-usa.org.

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CONTACT: Don Wedd (773) 404 0004 ext. 270, home (773) 955 1325

 

 

 

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