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	Pope Endorses Bishops' Attempts to Rid Clergy of Child Molesters By Peter Steinfels New York Times June 22, 1993 http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/22/us/pope-endorses-bishops-attempts-to-rid-clergy-of-child-molesters.html In his first public statement on a problem that has shaken the Catholic Church in the United States, Pope John Paul II has told American bishops that he will help them use existing church law as far as possible to remove child molesters from the ranks of the priesthood. In a letter released yesterday in Rome and Washington, the Pope told the bishops that he fully shared their sorrow and concern for the young victims "so seriously hurt by these misdeeds." [ Excerpts, page A14. ] And he said a committee of experts from the Vatican and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops would study how to apply church law, known as canon law, to the situation. Shift in Attitudes Six American cardinals recently traveled to Rome and asked the Pope directly for his help, several individuals familiar with the workings of the American church reported. The cardinals, they said, acted en masse after previous visits to Vatican officials by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia did not produce any sign that church law might be adjusted or streamlined so that American bishops could act more swiftly and decisively against molesting priests. The letter released yesterday appeared to grant the American hierarchy some but not all the help that it had requested. The Pope did not pledge any change in church law, but he indicated his conviction that with the Vatican's cooperation, the existing law could meet the bishops' needs. Perhaps more important, the Pope's message was the latest sign that the church's leadership is abandoning its previous policy of treating sexual abuse by priests as a matter for individual bishops to deal with locally. Instead, both the Pope and the American hierarchy are increasingly addressing the problem as one that requires a nationwide, or even churchwide, shift in attitudes. Canon law provides serious penalties, including dismissal, for sexual misconduct and criminal behavior, both of which are involved in molesting minors. But the law contains many procedures for protecting priests against unfounded accusations and other provisions that have made its strict enforcement difficult. Into the Public Eye The letter, dated June 11, was the Pope's first major public acknowledgement of the problem of sexual abuse of minors. Earlier this spring, the Pope spoke to American bishops visiting Rome about the value of screening candidates for the priesthood more rigorously. A number of bishops have complained quietly that the Vatican has shown little sympathy for the difficulties they face in dealing with the recent barrage of sexual-misconduct cases. They have been particularly troubled by obstacles to dismissing an offending priest whose moral or psychological state prevents him from being safely reassigned to any ministry but who refuses to resign from the active priesthood. Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore, the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the American bishops felt "strengthened by knowing that the Holy Father has taken to his own heart our concern for both the victims of abuse by priests and the priests who abuse." The Pope, in his letter, said that he was responding to the sentiments expressed by American bishops in their "ad limina" (to the threshold) visits to Rome, the personal reports that the bishops make every five years to the Pope and Vatican officials. How the Laws Differ "During these last months, I have become aware," the Pope said, of how much American Catholics "are suffering because of certain cases of scandal." Among the obstacles to dismissing priest offenders is the fact that minors are defined in church law as those under 16 rather than 18, the age in most American states, so that a priest who has sex with someone 16 or over, while guilty of violating church law, is not guilty under church law of having sex with a minor. In canon law, priests cannot be penalized for acts that occurred more than five years ago, whereas the statute of limitations in American criminal and civil law has increasingly been extended for cases of sexual abuse against minors. Furthermore, if a priest molested a youth under a psychological compulsion -- precisely the reason that church leaders would want to dismiss him -- that condition can be cited in church law as a reason for mitigating the penalty. Last Thursday, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, meeting in New Orleans, announced the formation by the American bishops of a special committee to investigate sexual abuse of minors by priests and propose ways of preventing abuse and caring for victims. 'Occasion for Sensationalism' The Pope's letter, dated the week before, was apparently distributed to the bishops during their meeting so that they could see it before it was made public. It also denounced the news media for "treating moral evil as an occasion for sensationalism." The problem of sexual abuse of children and adolescents by priests is not confined to the United States. In recent years, similar cases have rocked the Catholic Church in Canada as well in the United States. During the past year, the bishops of England and Wales issued a letter lamenting such behavior. Many experts in sexual disorders and church leaders, too, feel that the apparent frequency of cases coming to light in these countries, as opposed to continental Europe and elsewhere, is due more to aggressive media attention and to the growing willingness of victims to speak out rather than to any actual difference in the extent of misconduct. A Distorted Image? Sensationalism, the Pope said, "leads to the loss of something which is essential to the morality of society. Harm is done to the fundamental right of individuals not to be easily exposed to the ridicule of public opinion; even more, a distorted image of human life is created." The Pope wrote that sensationalism might "open the door to evil in the conscience and behavior of vast sectors of society, especially among the young." He called on the bishops to exercise responsibility to limit the impact of sensationalism on society, "to halt the trivializing of the great things of God and man." The Pope did not suggest particular ways to do this, beyond an ardent closing appeal to prayer. The Pope's letter clearly referred to the scandals involving molesting of minors: he cited the Gospel passage in which Jesus warned that it would be better for someone "to be drowned in the depths of the sea" than to cause the downfall of "the little ones." Other Kinds of Scandals But the letter could apply as well to other sexual scandals, such as the reports of affairs with several young women that recently led Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez to resign as archbishop of Santa Fe, N.M. "The vast majority of bishops and priests are devoted followers of Christ, ardent workers in his vineyard," the Pope wrote. "That is why I am deeply pained, like you, when it seems that the words of Christ can be applied to some of his ministers of the altar." In recent years, the hierarchy has steadily toughened its approach to the problem of priests who commit sexual offenses. On Sunday, John Cardinal O'Connor of New York spoke at St. Patrick's Cathedral about a new document outlining archdiocesan policies on sexual misconduct by priests. The document will specify inappropriate behavior that priests must avoid and the penalties that sexual misdeeds would entail.
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