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After months of anticipation, Catholics hoping that the annual meeting of American bishops would lead to concrete measures on the crisis of sexual abuse will be content, for the moment, a "springboard".
The public part of the fall general assembly, which took place over three days, ended Wednesday without any final decision or concrete action, partly because of the fact that it was not over. a request from the Vatican to postpone any vote on the proposals the day after a meeting in Rome between Pope Francis and the heads of the bishops in February conferences around the world.
The request, presented at the beginning of the procedure by the bishops on Monday, disappointed many bishops who came to show their seriousness about the issue of abuse, not to mention the wider Catholic community and public vigilance to see if the leaders of the church would deliver on promises to address the issue with more than just words.
In his conclusions, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, shared this feeling, while leaving some hope.
"Brothers, I opened the meeting by expressing some disappointment, I end it with hope," he said. "My hope is first of all based on Christ, who desires that the church be cleansed and our efforts bear fruit."
He added that the interviews and advice of child protection experts and victims of sexual abuse by the clergy themselves gave him "guidance and consensus" on the fact that that the church could make the commitment to strengthen the responsibility of the bishops, both in cases of misconduct and mismanagement of allegations of abuse. and to discover how ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, accused of sexual misconduct with adult priests, has climbed the ladder of clericalism.
"I'm going to take it as a stepping stone for action," said DiNardo.
The conversations between the bishops, although cordial, sometimes did not allow to reach the consensus perceived by DiNardo. Instead, the dialogue underscored the need to better iron and prune and even define the proposals that the bishops made. It was unclear whether the bishops, if they were free to vote, would have reached the necessary consensus to turn the proposals into policies.
One question that DiNardo tried to solve in his remarks was the fidelity of the American prelates with Francis. After summarizing two earlier expressions of "fraternal affection for our Holy Father", he repeated this sentiment in the name of the whole body.
"Together with you today, gathered in Baltimore as a Plenary Assembly, we, the members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, commit His Holiness to his loyalty and dedication in these difficult times," he said. the president of the conference of bishops. "I am sure that, under the leadership of Pope Francis, the conversation that the world church will have in February will help us to eliminate the scourge of sexual abuse committed by our church.This will make our local efforts more global and the global perspective will help us. " us here. "
The bishops overwhelmingly rejected a largely symbolic motion proposed by Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, which "encouraged" the Holy See to publish all possible documents under canon and civil law. related to allegations of misconduct against McCarrick – and to do so "soon".
Several bishops who favored the measure said that the inhabitants of their dioceses had made the McCarrick case a major claim. And while agreeing with the need to clarify the prelate's story, opponents of the motion have seen little and have instead duplicated a commitment already made by the Vatican.
"It seems to be doing something, when in fact we are asking – loosely – encouraging someone else to do something else quickly, and I think it seems we are doing something while in reality we are not, "said Bishop Bishop. Michael Olson from Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cardinal of Newark Joseph Tobin read in a communique of the Holy See dated October 6 that "the Holy See will make known in good time the findings of the case concerning Archbishop McCarrick," that he has already considered such. "his known intentions to reveal the documentation" concerning investigations on the former disgraced cardinal.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich added, "Peter's successor said that he would tell the truth about it, and it seems to me that we must keep our word."
The bishops arrived in Baltimore with three actions to get themselves voted: a set of standards of responsibility for bishops; a lay majority commission project to deal with allegations of misconduct against bishops; and a restraining protocol for bishops who have resigned or been removed from office because of allegations of abuse or "gross negligence in the performance of their duties".
With the Vatican's request to press the break, the bishops further advanced with a debate and a discussion on the measures.
In proposing an amendment to the proposed standards for bishop accountability, Bishop Steven Biegler of Cheyenne, Wyoming, outlined several "values for episcopal conduct". He wrote in part:
As the Church seeks to reform, we must address the root causes of episcopal abuse in the sexual abuse crisis. Clericalism was an important factor. Some bishops have established a "toxic fraternity" that has made them forget questionable behavior, ignore rumors of problems, believe in the denials of the mullahs and seek to preserve the ability of a cleric to exercise his ministry. Sometimes they acted to protect the reputation of the church or clergy, while avoiding victims / survivors of sexual abuse and their families. Bishops have often ignored the voices of laypeople who spoke about sexual abuse and mismanagement of allegations. instead, they acted in institutional isolation.
In developing the amendment – which, although welcomed, was deemed inappropriate for this document and not accepted by the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations – Biegler described his experience as an investigator on Former Bishop of Cheyenne, Joseph Hart. He stated that in the course of his investigation he had heard victims who had stated that they were not well received by the police, even though he himself had met criticism from some members. the legal community, long-time parishioners and fellow bishops. He described what he experienced as "favoritism towards the person in power … who then avoids the victims".
"I feel we do not act as guardians at least," Biegler said. "I think that we have no tenderness in our hearts to hear the cries that await us for mercy, I think we have not managed to work with the co-responsibility of the laity", he adds. A special commission, largely composed of lay people, to examine the accusations against the bishops would in effect "totally abandon" bishops from their responsibilities to the leaders assigned to them.
Wednesday's conversation continued criticism of the proposed commission, which would create a nonprofit organization outside the conference with nine members – three lay people, two bishops and a priest – who would assess the charges against bishops before they send to the Vatican ambassador to the United States.
An idea, which led to an unlikely merger between Archbishop Cupich and Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, would give more power to the Metropolitan Archbishop to consider such allegations. In his own amendment, Cupich described in detail a process whereby any accusation of sexual abuse or neglect aimed at protecting vulnerable children and adults would be brought before the local authorities and the Metropolitan, and then forwarded to the Vatican by the Apostolic Nuncio.
Others have asked questions about this alternative, noting that McCarrick, as Archbishop of Washington, DC, was himself a metropolitan, or wondering if Catholics would consider such a process to be truly independent. .
Most of the discussions focused on McCarrick, the bishops speaking out of "legitimate indignation" on the part of the people on the benches and of "justifiable anger and suspicion of the faithful" on the fact that his alleged sexual misconduct with seminarians and young priests had remained so long ignored. The 88-year-old prelate has denied the allegations and a canonical inquiry is under way.
Noting that the US Senate has rarely voted in favor of censoring a member for extraordinary violations of his standards, Bishop Liam Cary of Baker, Oregon, asked: "Should the conference of American bishops even with Archbishop McCarrick? "
While the pope removed McCarrick from the College of Cardinals and other institutions, he removed his name from the buildings and canceled the honorary degrees. "silence?"
"He's not welcome," said Olson, Bishop of Fort Worth. "We should say it for him and out of respect for those he has hurt."
While the bishops closed the meeting in the absence of plans covering the entire conference, several people claimed that many of the ideas put forward – ranging from the review of priests' records to the publication of the credible accused – could be adopted by their dioceses.
Other ideas, such as a uniform definition of what constitutes a credible allegation and a commissioned study on sexual abuse and concealment by bishops, were considered to require more time to be considered by the court. working group to further examine the options.
"We leave this place determined to take the most energetic steps possible at the earliest," said DiNardo, and "in communion with the universal Church."
"There is still a lot to do, but what we have done is a sign of hope."
[BrianRoeweestunécrivaindelaRCNSonadresseemailest[BrianRoeweisanNCRstaffwriterHisemailaddressis[BrianRoeweestunécrivaindelaRCNSonadresseemailest[BrianRoeweisanNCRstaffwriterHisemailaddressis[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @BrianRoewe.]
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