UNITED STATES
The Dispatch
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer
At the peak of the clergy sex abuse crisis, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops adopted a policy of permanently barring offenders from church work, prompting concern among some church leaders that the punishment violated a belief in redemption.
But the bishops are expected to preserve that rule - the core of their abuse-prevention plan - at a meeting Thursday. A committee of bishops overseeing a review of the plan has spent months soliciting comment from church leaders.
"Overall there was definite expression that the `one-strike' policy needs to be retained for now," the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse wrote in its recommendations, which the bishops are set to take up Thursday.
Still, the committee concluded that "many, perhaps a majority" of bishops hoped they could eventually allow men who are truly rehabilitated back into ministry.
"However, most also see the rationale for continuing it," the panel wrote.