UNITED STATES
The New York Times
As 115 cardinals prepare to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Times reporters covering the papal transition answered readers’ questions on the conclave process, the future of the church and the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI. …
Q: How likely is the Catholic Church to report priests accused of molestation to secular authorities?
LAURIE GOODSTEIN: It depends on whether the new pope is someone who understands that child sexual abuse is a crime that can damage a victim for life — and not, as some cardinals have said they believe, an accusation motivated by animus against the Catholic Church.
New policies on sexual abuse posted by the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 say that in countries where the law requires it, church officials should report priests who have been credibly accused of abuse to law enforcement authorities. But these policies are not binding, and the Vatican leaves it up to the bishops in each diocese to decide. While there is increasing awareness and improvement in how the church in the United States and some other countries has dealt with child sexual abuse, there are cases that have gone unreported to law enforcement.
One recent example is that of a pedophile priest in Kansas City, Mo., whose pornographic photographs of young girls were turned over to the diocese. Bishop Robert W. Finn did not alert the police about the enormity of the photographic evidence (another diocesan official eventually did), and the bishop has been convicted of a misdemeanor. The priest is now in prison, and victims advocacy groups have called for Bishop Finn to be removed from his position by the next pope. But while many abusive priests have indeed been defrocked after a legal proceeding within the church, it is the rare bishop who has been disciplined by the church for mismanaging abuse cases.
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