Catholic bishops cannot weaken zero-tolerance

There can be no retreat by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in America on the zero-tolerance policy relating to sexual abuse of minors by priests. Not only is the church still striving to rebuild the confidence of its faithful, which reacted with horror as hundreds of cases of pedophilia involving the clergy became public, but it now has to appease the many Catholics who were incensed when bishops used the pulpit to influence the outcome of the presidential election.
It would not be an exaggeration to use the word crisis to describe the state of the Catholic Church today.
The zero-tolerance policy or child-protection plan, which is being reviewed by the bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse, calls for a ban on church work for clerics who molest young people. In a document sent to U.S. bishops gathered this week in Washington, D.C., the committee recommends that the ban be preserved.
While we endorse the recommendation, we do no believe it goes far enough. The ban should apply not only to church work but to any work in which a pedophile priest would come in contact with young people. Why such stridency?
Because the root causes of the sexual misbehavior by priests have not been identified. A study commissioned by the bishops is to be completed by October 2005. The contract for the research has been awarded to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
And until the answer to the question "Why?" is provided, the policing of priests involved in the child-abuse cases must be unrelenting.
Culpability
Indeed, because of the cover-up that took place over the years -- pedophile priests were often times assigned to other parishes, or in some cases simply protected by their bishops -- the issue of culpability still needs to be addressed. As we have argued many times, this widespread crisis in the church was facilitated by bishops who were more interested in preserving the ranks of the clergy than addressing the emotional and physical harm being done to children.
In 2002, the Dallas Morning News claimed in an investigative report that two-thirds of the top U.S. Catholic leaders "have protected priests accused of sexual abuse in a systematic practice that spans decades and continues today."
The failure of the Roman Catholic Church in America to force these bishops to provide an accounting of their actions remains a point of contention for Catholics and non Catholics.
They certainly weren't doing God's work when they participated indirectly in the brutal, criminal act of child abuse. The protection now afforded to them raises the specter of a church still involved in a cover-up.
One of the concerns voiced by David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has to do with the commitment of the bishops to implement the zero-tolerance policy.
"Is it rigorously followed?" Clohessy said.
Here's another way of posing the question: Can the bishops be trusted to vigorously follow the policy?
Past practice does warrant a certain amount of skepticism.