What Signal Is the Vatican Sending?

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Does the Vatican understand how its reaction will play in the United States?

Hitchcock: No. That's what I've heard from every knowledgeable person that I've talked to in Rome or has contacts in Rome. They think of it as a media frenzy. And I'm baffled that they're baffled. But for some reason that is what everyone says is their position.

Neuhaus: I think most American Catholics have an enormous confidence in this Pope and in Rome's leadership. For the great majority of people, the fact that you have such a clear and focused involvement-cooperation between Rome and the U.S. Bishops will be powerfully reassuring.

Allen: Vatican officials are eminently aware of how painful and difficult a situation this has been for the American Church. They know how important the commitment to getting all the abusers out of the priesthood is, and how important the idea of involving the laity is. They're trying to be a sensitive to that as they possibly can. Certainly the positive language at the beginning of Cardinal Re's letter reflects that. They understand how much most Americans want to see a strong lay role in this. On the other hand, they also believe in the bishop-priest relationship that the Church has nurtured and protected for 200 years, and they don't want to see that compromised.

Is the Vatican digging in its heels?

Hitchcock: I would guess to some extent. I guess you would have to say that the Vatican unfortunately sees the rights of accused priests as really taking priority over whatever harm may be done to the victims. The priority lies with the priests. That's what one has to acknowledge.

Shouldn't the Vatican concerned about due process?

Hitchcock: Those of us who don't see the church as a democracy haven't had any problem with that. I believe the church should use authoritative means of dealing with this problem.

But isn't the Vatican already powerful and authoritative-even authoritarian?

Hitchcock: The bishops are often characterized as toadies of the Vatican. Those of us who follow these things have never believed that is the case. Our attitude has been that the Vatican acts too little, too late. There's really very little enforcement power. Bishops are allowed to go on for years doing what they want to do until they reach the retirement age. So in a way this represents further indication the Vatican does not like to take strong measures. Now you might say this is a strong measure in the sense that it's undermining the bishops' announced policy. But there's a great reluctance to use disciplinary authority in the Vatican, so for all the talk about there being reactionary and authoritarian, there's a great reluctance to use authority. No bishop, for example, ever gets removed from office unless he's involved in a public scandal.

Why is everyone so confused, and why are the responses all over the map?

Hitchcock: You will find, I think, that this is an issue that doesn't break down along the usual liberal conservative lines. I don't think from the conservative point of view that we're being inconsistent because what we see in the pedophilia scandal is blatant disregard for church moral teaching, blatant misconduct by priests. Bishops have an obligation to do something about it; they don't. I believe part of the problem in American Catholicism has been bishops who've been too timid to act or have been sympathetic to the problem.

Reese: The problem we face is that the church did such a bad job of addressing the sex abuse crisis in the past that it has very little credibility. So people-especially victims' groups and the media--are suspicious of any action that looks like it protects priests. At the same time, I think if you sit people down and say, "Shouldn't we have a process that protects priests from false accusations?" people will say, "Yeah." But people are simply suspicious of anything that looks like backtracking.

Allen: The question is, What are bishops supposed to do now? Are they supposed to continue to implement Dallas exactly as it was written? Are they supposed to wait until this mixed commission does its work? Or are they supposed to pick and choose, saying "some elements of Dallas I like and will continue to apply, others I won't"?

We've heard different things. Senior Vatican officials have been quoted both on and off the record in the last 48 hours, advising bishops not to proceed with the controversial points. On the other hand, we heard Bishop Gregory this morning saying no, no, this does not mean we're going to stop applying Dallas, we're going to continue.

It's unclear. What's likely to happen is that different bishops will continue to do different things. In that sense, we're sort of back where we started.