FAQ: Bishops' Conference on Sexual Abuse

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Dallas Meeting
What is on the agenda for the Dallas meeting?

The only topic is "recommendations leading to a comprehensive response on the national level for handling cases of clergy sexual misconduct." The bishops had been expected to consider a pastoral plan for Hispanic Catholics and a proposal to allow for online giving to the various national collections administered by the conference. Those issues have been postponed until November.

What will be the hardest issue to resolve?

Many bishops, lay leaders and observers of Catholic life agree on this one: What should the church do with a priest who is accused today of a one-time sexual indiscretion with an older teenager decades ago? What if an investigation turns up no other evidence of abuse? What if that priest has apparently served well, other than the one incident?

Many bishops, lay leaders and observers of Catholic life agree on this one: What should the church do with a priest who is accused today of a one-time sexual indiscretion with an older teenager decades ago? What if an investigation turns up no other evidence of abuse? What if that priest has apparently served well, other than the one incident?

Some bishops and experts on abuse say that any act of sexual abuse with a minor should be cause for removal from ministry, no matter what it was or when it happened. They say that one-time offenders are very rare and that there's no way to guarantee there is not another silent victim. Others argue that years of subsequent appropriate behavior should count for something if the single victim and current parishioners are amenable.

What will the bishops actually do?

The conference leadership has made it clear that, as a minimum, they expect to approve the framework for a national policy that will include mandatory reporting of all future accusations of abuse to civil authorities. Any priest found guilty of abuse of minors in the future would be removed from ministry, most bishops have said. Some bishops have also said they would like to see increased lay involvement in determining what happens to accused priests. The exact details of how the policy would be administered may not be decided in Dallas. Questions that may be taken up in private include how to handle dissent in the church, what role homosexuality has played in the crisis and whether any bishops should resign for improperly responding to reports of abuse.

The conference leadership has made it clear that, as a minimum, they expect to approve the framework for a national policy that will include mandatory reporting of all future accusations of abuse to civil authorities. Any priest found guilty of abuse of minors in the future would be removed from ministry, most bishops have said. Some bishops have also said they would like to see increased lay involvement in determining what happens to accused priests. The exact details of how the policy would be administered may not be decided in Dallas. Questions that may be taken up in private include how to handle dissent in the church, what role homosexuality has played in the crisis and whether any bishops should resign for improperly responding to reports of abuse.

Will the meeting be open to the public?

No, but the media will be allowed to witness some of the discussion. Some of the open sessions will be broadcast on cable news. Parts of the meeting will happen behind closed doors.

Vatican Involvement
Has the Vatican ever overturned votes by the conference?

Yes: A recent example involved rules to be followed by Catholic theologians. After the Vatican ordered new guidelines for theology taught at Catholic universities, the U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a set of rules in 1996. The Vatican rejected them for not being specific enough. The bishops responded with a more specific set of rules in 1999 that the Vatican later approved.

Yes: A recent example involved rules to be followed by Catholic theologians. After the Vatican ordered new guidelines for theology taught at Catholic universities, the U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a set of rules in 1996. The Vatican rejected them for not being specific enough. The bishops responded with a more specific set of rules in 1999 that the Vatican later approved.

Have Vatican officials weighed in on the current crisis?

Pope John Paul II called the top American Catholic leaders to the Vatican in April and declared that sexual abuse of children is both a sin and a crime. Separately, four well-known Vatican theologians have suggested that not all accusations of sexual abuse by a priest need to be reported to civil authorities. Some experts said that the comments were intended as a signal to the American bishops.

What do the American bishops think of the Vatican theologians' comments, especially about reporting abuse to the police?

Several bishops publicly rejected the comments. Dallas Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Galante is a member of the national Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. He dismissed the Vatican theologians' comments as a misunderstanding of the American legal system. His committee issued a draft policy on Tuesday that included a requirement that all allegations of sexual abuse be given to civil authorities. That policy is already state law in Texas.

Several bishops publicly rejected the comments. Dallas Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Galante is a member of the national Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. He dismissed the Vatican theologians' comments as a misunderstanding of the American legal system. His committee issued a draft policy on Tuesday that included a requirement that all allegations of sexual abuse be given to civil authorities. That policy is already state law in Texas.

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