Local church strengthens policy, Vatican loosens sanctions

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
March 5, 2017

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/local-church-strengthens-policy-vatican-loosens-sanctions/article_f5902dfe-ffdd-11e6-bbc5-a7d43a7de16e.html

As the church continues in its effort to educate clergy, Catholic school personnel, all church employees and volunteers on the newly adopted Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, news from the Vatican may cast a pall on recent strides made by the leadership of the Archdiocese of Agana.

According to the Associated Press, Pope Francis has reduced sanctions against some pedophile priests in an effort to apply his vision of a merciful church, even to those guilty of abusing minors under their care.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told the AP that Francis' philosophy of mercy applied to "even those who are guilty of heinous crimes."

Just as Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes told media during a press conference in February, punishment for priests found guilty of abusing minors always includes being removed from public ministry, but those priests are not necessarily defrocked.

According to the AP, the pope has been criticized by many within and outside the church for his "merciful" approach to offenders of child sex abuse in contrast to the "tough line" set by Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

"Many canon lawyers and church authorities argue that defrocking pedophiles can put society at greater risk because the church no longer exerts any control over them," the AP article read. "They argue that keeping the men in restricted ministry, away from children, at least enables superiors to exert some degree of supervision."

Critics, however, add that the church must be mindful of the message such leniency sends to both survivors and abusers.

'Protecting God's children'

Since the adoption of the charter last month, the church has continued to educate employees and volunteers of the new policies regarding sex abuse allegations.

"This charter and the provisions it offers is pretty well recognized as some of the best practices in the world concerning the area of protecting God's children," Byrnes said.

Byrnes explained the three main points of the charter: to provide healing to those who have been injured, to protect children and young people, and to restore trust and harmony in the broader faith community.

"Apart from the horrific impact sexual abuse has on a young person - which is the greatest evil - these occurrences and how they've been handled over the decades is a horrible breach of trust," he said. "We all know once trust is broken, it's hard to win back. These provisions are a road map for winning that trust back."

To that end, Byrnes said provisions under the charter required that the first step in any allegation of sexual abuse was to notify civil authorities.

After that, he said an independent review board would go over the allegations to determine if the claim is substantiated. If it is deemed a credible allegation, the priest or other offender is put on immediate suspension. From there, he said the church would await the judgment of a canonical trial or other admission of guilt before deciding what to do with the accused offender.

Byrnes explained that there were two options for dealing with a guilty party. One is laicization, or the formal removal of that person from the priesthood or related religious order. The second would be a divestment of all clerical power and an order that the individual live the rest of their life in prayer and penance.

"In canon law, all punishments are meant to be healing, restorative, because the main concern is the soul of the person - (the punishment is) meant to be healing for the soul," Byrnes said.

Potential transparency

In the event that the accused is a bishop or archbishop, Byrnes said the "nuncio," or papal ambassador, would have to be informed.

While the charter is itself somewhat quiet on the procedures for when a bishop or archbishop is accused beyond having the papal ambassador informed, other provisions of the newly adopted policy point to potential church transparency.

According to the charter, "Diocese are not to enter into settlements which bind the parties to confidentiality unless the victim/survivor requests confidentiality and this request is noted in the text of the agreement."

Post sources explain that this provision of the charter shows the church's commitment to standing by victims and admitting to past wrongdoings in order to stop future abuse. In the U.S. mainland, it is fairly common practice to have settlements between victims and the Catholic Church include clauses that bind both sides to confidentiality. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the abuse never occurred. Under the new policy, settlement details will be available for all to see unless victims themselves expressly requests otherwise.