Church must take a stand against abuse

This week, Catholic bishops from around the country are meeting in Washington, D.C., to… This week, Catholic bishops from around the country are meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss revised norms for responding to sexual abuse by members of the clergy. If the bishops support the revised norms, Roman officials will carve the new rules into church law for the United States.

The revisions are expected to pass, and they should – the Catholic church must ensure that priests who abuse children are properly punished. The revisions, however, are only an overdue step in the right direction. The church should take a solid, undeniable stance against sexual abuse.

Bishop Donald Wuerl is representing the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh at the meeting. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wuerl has been outspoken about purging child abusers from the church, insisting at a bishops’ meeting in June that all child molesters be removed from the ministry.

Wuerl supports the proposed revisions, saying they uphold a one-strike rule. But the revisions – though they are better than nothing – are not strict enough.

In reference to sexual abuse, the norms state, “When even a single act of sexual abuse by a priest or deacon is admitted or is established … the offending priest or deacon will be removed permanently from ecclesiastical ministry, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state, if the case so warrants.”

In order to effectively fight the problem of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, the church must lay priests at the mercy of United States laws, not church laws. Phrases like “removed permanently from ecclesiastical ministry” and “dismissal from the clerical state, if the case so warrants” are too soft.

The one-strike rule that Wuerl calls for should not leave any leeway. If a priest is convicted of abusing a child, he should be immediately dismissed from the clergy and transferred to prison. Furthermore, his position must not be waiting for him when he gets out again.

The scandals that have arisen in recent years have reflected poorly on the entire Catholic church, not just a few priests. And while it should be emphasized that the problem lies with a select few, it still makes the entire organization look bad.

Child abuse scandals have rocked the church with bad publicity in recent years, and the bishops now have an opportunity to take a stand and reclaim that lost dignity for all Catholics. Their stance should be simple – child abuse means dismissal and jail for any offending priest. The case always “so warrants.”