Bishop foresees quick passage of church abuse policy
Bishop Anthony G. Bosco predicts a quick passage by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the revisions of their policy regarding clergy sexual misconduct of minors when the bishops gather next week for their fall meeting in Washington, D.C. “My feeling is it will breeze right through. Nobody wants this delayed any longer,’ said Bishop Bosco, spiritual leader for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, which includes Fayette, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Indiana counties.
The policy, called “Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing With Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy or Other Church Personnel’ was adopted by the USCCB at its June meeting in Dallas and then sent to Rome for approval.
Rome asked for revisions, which were worked out by four U.S. bishops and four Vatican officials. They were recently made public and will be voted on next week by the U.S. bishops.
If approved, they will be sent to Rome for official approval and then become particular law.
Bishop Bosco explained that “particular’ laws apply to a particular country – In this instance, it would be the United States – as opposed to universal law which applies to the entire church. Currently, the Catholic Church in the United States has no particular law applying to clergy sexual misconduct regarding minors but adheres to the general law of the Church, the bishop said.
The new policy will mean little change for the Greensburg diocese, which currently uses measures that are called for in the document. They include a review board that advises the bishop in his assessment of the allegations.
According to the policy, the review board is to consist of at least five people “of outstanding integrity and good judgment in full communion with the church.’ The majority are to be lay people, but at least one member should be a priest and one member should have expertise in the treatment of sexual abuse of minors.
In Greensburg, the review board was created in 1994 and includes a priest, an attorney, a school principal and two experts from the field of violence and sexual abuse. All members are from the diocese and practicing Catholics.
The review board met for the first time this year when the diocese investigated eight cases of alleged sexual abuse that arose from allegations at least 18 years old.
Six cases came from a review of priests’ files while two other cases came from allegations made by victims who came forward this year.
Acting upon recommendations from the review board, Bishop Bosco permanently banned three active priests and two retired priests from functioning as priests.
This administrative action without a trial will still be allowed under the new policy – even for one act of sexual abuse of a minor. It has been commonly referred to as zero tolerance.
Bishop Bosco agrees with zero tolerance, noting, “If a person has sexual feelings towards a child, there’s something wrong here. Can it be cured? I don’t think, when you’re talking about a mental illness of this sort that you can tell if you can fix it. You can do a MRI and see tumors and breaks. You can’t X-ray a psyche. I don’t think anybody in the psychiatric profession will give you a guarantee, so you have to play it safe.’
Bishop Bosco said that permanently banning a man from functioning as a priest is a “very severe punishment’ and called it “the equivalent of a death sentence as a priest.’
He noted, “These were very painful decisions to make. Friends of these priests became very angry and said, ‘We would trust our children with them,’ or they would attack the victim.’
The bishop also said, “Anybody who believes I made these decisions quickly and without good evidence doesn’t understand me.’
The new policy also notes the accused priests may request and may be urged voluntarily to comply with an appropriate medical and psychological evaluation acceptable to the diocese and the to accused.
The Greensburg diocese has already used evaluations in several cases this year.
The accused priest is encouraged to retain counsel and, when necessary, the diocese will supply counsel, according to the policy. Greensburg has already complied with this.
The new policy also calls for a statue of limitations that allows victims up to age 28 to report abuse. But after that time has passed, bishops can still request a dispensation from Rome to proceed with an investigation.
Bishop Bosco approves, noting that sometimes victims are unaware of the deadlines or don’t realize the full impact of the abuse until after the statute of limitations has run out.
The policy also forbids a priest or deacon who has committed an act of sexual abuse against a minor from being transferred to another ministerial assignment.
It calls for the diocese to comply with all applicable civil laws in reporting sexual abuse allegations involving minors to civil authorities and to cooperate in the investigation.
Bishop Bosco said of the policy, “I think it’s fair. I think it’s compassionate to victims. It addresses good order in the Church. It’s still painful for priests to be removed and the bishops who do it.’
The bishop is not aware of other countries that already have their own particular law regarding clergy sexual abuse of minors.
But he noted, “My feeling is this will be a pattern for other countries.’