DALLAS (June 14, 2002 5:51 p.m. EDT) - After months of scandal that tore at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, American bishops adopted a policy Friday that will bar sexually abusive clergy from face-to-face contact with parishioners but keep them in the priesthood. The national policy is intended to be binding on 178 mainstream dioceses, representing a major shift from the voluntary discipline guidelines the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has relied on for years. The bishops will need Vatican approval to make the policy binding. The prelates stood and applauded after they approved the policy on a 239-13 vote. "From this day forward, no one known to have sexually abused a child will work in the Catholic church in the United States," Bishop Wilton Gregory, the conference president. He apologized for "our tragically slow response in recognizing the horror" of sexual abuse. Under the plan, abusers - past and future - will technically remain priests but they will be prohibited from any work connected to the church, from celebrating Mass to teaching in parochial school to serving in a Catholic soup kitchen. In short, the plan aims to keep molesting clergy away from parishioners. Priests still can be defrocked - removed from the priesthood - but it would be up to the presiding bishop, acting on the advice of an advisory board comprised mainly of lay people. The bishops were forced to address sex abuse after months of unrelenting scandal in which some 250 priests resigned or were suspended because of misconduct claims. Victim after victim came forward with tortured stories of abuse at the hands of priests, and accusations that church leaders merely shuffled molesters between parishes. Before the summit, there was speculation that the bishops would adopt a zero tolerance policy under which abusive priests would be automatically defrocked. The idea was dropped during closed-door debate. Salt Lake City Bishop George Niederauer, a member of the draft policy committee, said he felt the plan would still protect children. But victims were outraged. "This is akin to telling a street killer in the city 'We're sending you to the country, '" said Mark Serrano of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "They will find children to prey upon." Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia said the policy reflected the need to show "Christ-like compassion" to priests. "We call them our son," he said. "Therefore, we must continue to have that compassion and forgiveness like any parent." Chicago's Cardinal Francis George urged his fellow bishops to embrace the policy, no matter their objections. "We need to pass this policy with all its flaws, some of them very deep indeed," George said. "Implementing it will involve sacrifices, but we have to be united around it." So many last-minute changes were made to the policy that bishops were unable to provide a full text of the plan when it was adopted. The Vatican will be asked to approve key parts of the policy to make it law in the U.S. church, which includes nearly 64 million Catholics. Since each diocese answers to Rome, Vatican authorization is needed to make the policy more than a gentlemen's agreement. The Rev. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, had no immediate comment on the policy but said officials there would review it - which looks to be a lengthy process. There have been signs leaders in Rome were displeased with the reforms the Americans were discussing. Last month, the dean of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University wrote that bishops should avoid telling congregations that priests had sexually abused someone if the bishops believe the priests will not abuse again. The bishops began working in earnest on the policy after an April summit with Pope John Paul II and U.S. cardinals to discuss the scandal. The first draft was released to the nation's bishops only 11 days ago, and was revised in private discussions in the last week. The speed with which the document was written and approved was stunning for a church that usually debates issues for years. "This is a defining moment for us," Archbishop Harry Flynn said as he opened Friday's debate. "A moment for us to declare our resolve once and for all ... to root out a cancer in our church." Fred Chi-Yip Chan Union City, California
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