Church Sets an Odd Standard, The Press-Democrat , April 21, 2010

Church Sets an Odd Standard

The Press-Democrat
April 21, 2010

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100421/OPINION/100429969/1042?Title=Church-sets-an-odd-standard

Pope Benedict XVI is surrounded by youths on the deck of a boat in the Malta, where he promised sexual abuse victims that the Catholic Church would do everything in its power to punish abusive priests and protect young people in the future. ANTONIO CALANNI / Associated Press

The Vatican has told bishops and clerics worldwide they should report sex abuse cases to police if required to do so by police.

How many centuries did it take the church to decide that?

Sex abuse scandals, which until recently some outside the United States tried to dismiss as a purely American problem, have exploded on the Roman Catholic Church in recent months. Some claim it goes all the way to Pope Benedict XVI, citing his tenure as head of the Vatican office charged with disciplining clergy. The office halted a mid-1990s investigation into a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys.

The new Vatican policy differs from one worked out by U.S. bishops after sex abuse cases exploded on the church in America. For example, it has no “zero tolerance” for priests who rape and molest children.

In the U.S., accused priests are barred from any public church work while the allegations are being investigated. “Crimes” are to be reported, not just allegations, the Vatican said.

That’s a standard many Americans would find strange. An American teacher accused of such an act would be immediately suspended. In California, in fact, a teacher can lose his or her credential for not reporting suspected cases of abuse, even if it doesn’t involve a fellow teacher.

Teachers, like many authority figures, are held to a higher standard because of what they do and what they represent.

Should the standard for a bishop or a cleric be any less, especially since the church assumes not only considerable power over its members but also high moral authority? For the Vatican’s policy to suggest but not explicitly direct that abuse cases be reported where required by civil law begs the question: Where on Earth is it not required? Except in some minds inside Vatican City, where the protection of the institution too often trumps protection of the flock.