KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
November 14, 2018
By Brian Roewe
After months of anticipation, Catholics hoping the U.S. bishops’ annual meeting would yield actionable steps on the sexual abuse crisis will have to settle, for now, for “a springboard.”
The three-day public portion of the fall general assembly concluded Wednesday with no final decisions or concrete steps, in part due to a Vatican request to delay any votes on proposals until after a February meeting in Rome among Pope Francis and the heads of bishops’ conferences from around the globe.
The request, delivered as the bishops began their proceedings Monday, came as a disappointment to many bishops who arrived eager to demonstrate their seriousness on the abuse issue, not to speak of the wider Catholic community and public watching to see if the church leaders would deliver on promises to address the matter with more than words.
In his concluding remarks, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, shared in the sentiment, though left room for some hope.
“Brothers, I opened the meeting expressing some disappointment. I end it with hope,” he said. “My hope is first of all grounded in Christ, who desires that the church be purified and that our efforts bear fruit.”
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