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	National Meeting of Catholic Bishops Opens in Bellevue, Draws Critics By Janet I. Tu Seattle Times June 15, 2011 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015329402_bishops16m.html Even as some 200 of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops began their annual spring meeting Wednesday in Bellevue, groups critical of items on the bishops' agenda seized their chance to speak out. On the agenda for the bishops, who are meeting at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue through Friday, are revisions to their policy — or charter — on dealing with clergy sex abuse, and a statement opposing physician-assisted suicide. Revisions to the sex-abuse charter are expected to be minor, and even before the meeting began, advocates for abuse victims have criticized the bishops for that, saying more sweeping changes are needed. They say that there's no provision in the charter to hold accountable bishops who ignore the policy. They cited recent examples in Philadelphia, where a grand jury found that 37 priests accused of sexual abuse had been allowed to remain in active ministry, and in Kansas City, where the bishop didn't heed past warnings about a priest who was eventually charged with possessing child pornography. Members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon outside the Hyatt. The U.S. bishops passed the policy in 2002 and revised it last in 2005. Among other provisions, it requires that any priest with a single credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor be removed from ministry. "The charter has served the church well. The charter works," said Spokane Bishop Blase Cupich during a brief presentation on the proposed revisions. Cupich is chairman of the bishops' Committee for the Protection and Young People. It is only when the charter is not followed correctly that "we get into difficulties," Cupich said in a news conference following Wednesday morning's session. Amendments to the policy are being accepted through 5 p.m., with a smaller group of bishops to work on the issue at an evening meeting that is closed to the media. The full body of bishops is scheduled to debate and vote on the policy revisions Thursday. They also are expected to vote on a statement opposing what they call physician-assisted suicide — the first time the full body of bishops has done so. It is expected to be "a public policy statement, a way for the Catholic Church to take part in the debate on legalizing physician-assisted suicide in many states," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, who chairs the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. The proposed statement says, in part, that "people who request death are vulnerable. They need care and protection. To offer them lethal drugs is a victory not for freedom but for the worst form of neglect." In Washington state, voters passed an initiative in 2008 allowing doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication for terminally ill patients seeking to hasten their deaths. Compassion & Choices, which advocates for choice in what it calls aid in dying, held a news conference Wednesday at the Bellevue Hyatt. The group contends that majorities of people of every faith and belief — including Roman Catholics — believe in permitting terminally ill patients to make their own choices about their final days, and that studies have shown improved end-of-life care where aid in dying is legal. Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com
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