IMAGE: CNS photo/Bob Roller
By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — The firestorm surrounding the clergy sex abuse crisis and the way some
bishops handled allegations of abuse against priests will be an important part
of the agenda of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall general assembly.
The bishops
have had to deal with seemingly endless revelations of allegations of abusive
clergy since June, most of which referred to long-past incidents. New reports
from media outlets also were expected as the Nov. 12-14 assembly in Baltimore approaches.
Bishops
nationwide also are facing new challenges as several state attorneys general have
opened investigations into the handling of abuse allegations. The investigations
follow the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report in August
that linked more than 300
priests and church workers to abuse claims and identified more than 1,000 victims over a 70-year period dating from 1947.
The USCCB has not directly addressed
the investigations and has not offered any indication that it will advise bishops on
how to respond.
Beyond the
discussions of clergy sexual abuse and any further actions, the bishops were
expected to accept a new pastoral letter on racism, vote on whether to approve
a revised national directory for permanent deacons, consider 139 English
translations of Latin hymn texts used in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, and
adopt a budget estimated at more than $23 million.
Security,
always tight during the twice-a-year assemblies, is expected to be stricter
than usual to prevent access to the Marriott Waterfront Hotel meeting site by
protesters upset with the way the bishops have handled reports of abuse by clergy.
In
preparing for the fall assembly, the bishops’ Administrative Committee Sept. 19
outlined actions to address the abuse crisis, including approving the
establishment of a third-party confidential reporting system for claims of any
abuse by bishops.
Committee
members instructed the bishops’ Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance to develop
proposals for policies addressing restrictions on bishops who were removed or
resigned because of allegations of abuse of minors or adults.
The
Administrative Committee also initiated the process of developing a code of
conduct for bishops regarding sexual misconduct with a minor or adult or
“negligence in the exercise of his office related to such cases.”
The
Administrative Committee consists of the officers, chairmen and regional
representatives of the USCCB. The committee, which meets in March and
September, is the highest authority of the USCCB outside of the full body of
bishops when they meet for their fall and spring general assemblies.
A USCCB
spokesman said Cardinal Daniel
N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, conference president, was unavailable
to discuss specific plans for the assembly because he and other conference
leaders were in Rome attending the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and
vocational discernment. The synod was to conclude Oct. 28.
Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the
National Review Board, also declined to discuss the issue, saying in an
Oct. 16 email to Catholic News Service that board members were continuing to
draft recommendations that would be delivered to the bishops during the
assembly.
In August,
Cesareo told Catholic News Service that the bishops “have
to put their trust in lay leadership and allow that lay leadership to develop
the processes and oversight when these kinds of allegations occur, particularly
holding bishops accountable.”
The
all-lay National Review Board, established by the bishops in 2002, oversees compliance by dioceses with
the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” It has
no role in oversight of bishops.
Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, Vermont,
chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Communications, told Catholic
News Service Oct. 19 that the bishops must “continue to press
forward” in explaining how well the charter “is working and continues
to work.”
“It important that we as a
conference have made incredible strides in protecting children to the point
that one of the safest places for children to participate is the Catholic
community in the United States,” he said.
“But that message is not
getting out there. Many people still believe that the abuse of children and the
cover-up by church authorities is an ongoing issue and that the bishops haven’t
done enough to address the issue. That’s contrary to the evidence in contrast
to the number of reported abuses since 2002,” Bishop Coyne said.
“We have to continually say the
charter is working and doing its job.”
Bishop Coyne also told CNS he would recommend
that dioceses voluntarily open their clergy personnel files — including those
of bishops — to investigators.
“We all do it and it’s
done,” he said.
Meanwhile,
work on the pastoral letter addressing racism was nearing its conclusion.
Bishop
Sheldon J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, chairman of the bishop’s Ad Hoc
Committee Against Racism,
has shepherded the final stages of work on the document since May when he
stepped in for Bishop George
V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, who resigned to undergo treatment for
acute leukemia.
The proposed statement,
“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love — A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” says
that “despite many promising strides made in our country, the ugly cancer
of racism still infects our nation.”
“Racist
acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to
acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the
neighbors Christ calls us to love,” the proposed pastoral letter says.
The
document examines the history of racism in the U.S. While acknowledging many
other groups in the county have endured racism and discrimination in the past,
it focuses on three groups: African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
The revised
national directory for permanent deacons, if approved, would cover all U.S.
Latin-rite dioceses and would give instruction on the formation, ministry and
life of permanent deacons.
The Vatican
approval, known as “recognitio,” for the directory currently in use
was set to expire in 2009. However, the bishops secured a pair of five-year
extensions from the Vatican so the directory could be more closely scrutinized.
The
proposed second edition of the directory has been approved by the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated
Life and Vocations, and was reviewed by the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
and the Committee on Doctrine.
The 139
English translations of Latin hymn texts are part of a wider effort focusing on
a new translation of the breviary agreed to by the bishops in 2012, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of
Atlanta, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, wrote to the
Administrative Committee in September.
“That
plan directed ICEL (International
Commission on English in the Liturgy) to prepare English translations of
the 291 Latin hymns of the typical edition, some of which have never been put
into contemporary English,” Archbishop Gregory said.
Should the
translations be approved in November, the remaining hymns likely will be
presented to the full body in November 2019 or June 2020, he added.
The
proposed 2019 budget for the USCCB reflects changes — cuts more frequently
than additions — largely outside the bishops’ control, yet will reflect a
surplus.
The budget
using the USCCB’s unrestricted funds is projected at $23.09 million next year, with a surplus of $245,811. The unrestricted
funds are spent on the general secretariat, administrative offices, pastoral
ministries, politics and advocacy, communications, and “other funding
relationships.”
The USCCB’s
restricted funds — contributions to national collections, funding for the
National Religious Retirement Office and government contracts for the Office of
Migration and Refugee Services — show proposed expenditures of $162.6 million, with a surplus
of $178,372.
When cuts
come into play, the most telling line item is the MRS budget.
“MRS
administration is decreasing $12.1
million due primarily to the reduction in the number of refugee arrivals
and that directly impacts pass-through funding to the dioceses for local
administration and direct assistance to clients,” said a budget overview
prepared by Archbishop Dennis
M. Schnurr of Cincinnati, USCCB treasurer.
Federal
awards and contracts are the chief source of MRS funds.
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Contributing to this report was Mark Pattison in Washington.
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