ROME
National
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Most Americans probably regard the sexual abuse norms adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002, the heart of which is the “one strike” policy, as by now more or less written in stone, a permanent part of the church’s response to the crisis. In fact, however, those norms were approved by the Vatican only for two years, and that trial period is up in March. What happens next is unclear.
A “mixed commission” of Vatican officials and American bishops to discuss the norms will meet in Rome in the offices of the Congregation for Clergy, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Concerns linger about the norms – about the fairness of the ‘one strike’ policy, the definition of the “sexual abuse,” the routine lifting of the statute of limitations, and various due process issues – though opinion is divided both in Rome and in America. Some canonists and Vatican officials, and most American bishops, believe the norms are working and should be continued largely as they stand. Other Vatican officials, however, and many overseas bishops, remain opposed.
Sources told NCR in late January that this meeting of the mixed commission is not necessarily expected to produce a decision, but to air experiences and concerns on both sides.
Posted by kshaw at February 1, 2005 07:19 AM