MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By MARY ZAHN
mzahn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 19, 2005
Archbishop Timothy Dolan has temporarily backed off of a policy that could have required priests to consent to unannounced searches of their homes at any time of the day or night if church officials suspected or knew they had been involved in sexual conduct, alcohol or drug abuse or other behavior deemed inappropriate by the archdiocese.
Calling the reaction to the policy a "firestorm," Father Curt Frederick, vicar for clergy, sent an e-mail to diocesan priests Monday that stated the policy would be placed on hold.
"Given the current firestorm I have suggested to the Archbishop that the documents be held in abeyance for the time being and he has agreed with that suggestion," Frederick wrote. "I am terribly sorry for any and all of the upset and consternation that the untimely release of these materials causes. It is a mess and it reopens wounds, that all of us want healed. I admit it. It wasn't intended to be so."
Sources said the archdiocese has received numerous phone calls and e-mails from parishioners and priests upset about the new policy after the Journal Sentinel published a report about the situation Friday.
Posted by kshaw at April 19, 2005 08:46 PM