UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Jan. 19, 2016
After years of raising concerns to U.S. bishops about potential holes in their clergy sexual abuse policies to little avail, a group of Catholic advocates has requested Vatican intervention.
Catholic Whistleblowers, in a formal request for investigation, alleges the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not followed through fully on its policy of zero tolerance toward abusive priests and deacons, in part because its guidelines lack a mechanism to assure that bishops send the necessary cases to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In addition, the organization argues that the conference uses a higher bar than church law to determine which cases require review by Rome.
“In a deliberate and ongoing way, the USCCB reneges on its commitment [to zero tolerance]. The conference does not exercise the leadership necessary to assure that known sexually abusive priests and deacons are removed from the community and that the community is warned about the sexually abusive priests and deacons,” Fr. James Connell, a canon lawyer and a member of Catholic Whistleblowers, said in the letter.
The U.S. bishops’ conference declined comment on the petition, saying that since it was sent to the Congregation for Bishops, the conference defers to the Vatican on how the questions raised are addressed.
The 13-page letter, dated Jan. 4, is addressed to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and was mailed to more than 450 U.S. bishops. It requests a formal investigation into the U.S. bishops’ practices, particularly those spelled out in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, or the Dallas Charter. Like previous petitions Catholic Whistleblowers has sent the Vatican, the latest cites Canons 1389 and 1399 of the Code of Canon Law, arguing the U.S. bishops’ conference has caused harm and scandal through its policies and behavior to address sexual abuse.
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