CHICAGO (IL)
Northwest Indiana News
BY DANIEL WOIKE
dwoike@nwitimes.com
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Saturday, June 18, 2005 2:03 AM CDT
CHICAGO | Catholic bishops usually are the ones strengthening faith and absolving sins, but the roles have been reversed after the sexual abuse scandals.
The church has been put in the position of asking parishioners for their forgiveness and for faith in the U.S. Catholic church, something that was priority as the nation's bishops met for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.
"At this time in the history of our church, we need to give absolute assurance to our people that we are doing everything possible to prevent abuse of children ever taking place," Gary Diocese Bishop Dale Melczek said.
The bishops passed minor amendments to The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and the Essential Norms -- the conference's responses to the scandal, passed in 2002. By an overwhelming vote, the bishops extended the charter for five years.