President of U.S. Bishops'
Conference Announces Effort That Will Involve Laity, Experts, and the Vatican
as U.S. Bishops Resolve to Address "Moral Catastrophe"
August 16, 2018
WASHINGTON— Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston,
President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has
issued the following statement after a series of meetings with members of the
USCCB's Executive Committee and other bishops. The following statement includes
three goals and three principles, along with initial steps of a plan that will
involve laity, experts, and the Vatican. A more developed plan will be
presented to the full body of bishops at their general assembly meeting in
Baltimore in November.
Cardinal DiNardo's full statement follows:
"Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Two weeks ago, I shared with you my sadness, anger, and
shame over the recent revelations concerning Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
Those sentiments continue and are deepened in light of the Pennsylvania Grand
Jury report. We are faced with a spiritual crisis that requires not only
spiritual conversion, but practical changes to avoid repeating the sins and
failures of the past that are so evident in the recent report. Earlier this
week, the USCCB Executive Committee met again and established an outline of
these necessary changes.
The Executive Committee has established three goals: (1) an investigation into
the questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick; (2) an opening of new and
confidential channels for reporting complaints against
bishops; and (3) advocacy for more effective resolution of
future complaints. These goals will be pursued according to three criteria:
proper independence, sufficient authority, and
substantial leadership by laity.
We have already begun to develop a concrete plan for
accomplishing these goals, relying upon consultation with experts, laity, and
clergy, as well as the Vatican. We will present this plan to the full body of
bishops in our November meeting. In addition, I will travel to Rome
to present these goals and criteria to the Holy See, and to urge further
concrete steps based on them.
The overarching goal in all of this is stronger protections
against predators in the Church and anyone who would conceal them, protections
that will hold bishops to the highest standards of transparency and
accountability.
Allow me to briefly elaborate on the goals and criteria that
we have identified.
The first goal is a full investigation of
questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick. These answers are necessary to
prevent a recurrence, and so help to protect minors, seminarians, and others
who are vulnerable in the future. We will therefore invite the Vatican to
conduct an Apostolic Visitation to address these questions, in concert with a
group of predominantly lay people identified for their expertise by members of
the National Review Board and empowered to act.
The second goal is to make reporting of
abuse and misconduct by bishops easier. Our 2002 "Statement of Episcopal
Commitment" does not make clear what avenue victims themselves should
follow in reporting abuse or other sexual misconduct by bishops. We need to
update this document. We also need to develop and widely promote reliable
third-party reporting mechanisms. Such tools already exist in many dioceses and
in the public sector and we are already examining specific options.
The third goal is to advocate for better procedures to resolve complaints
against bishops. For example, the canonical procedures that follow a complaint
will be studied with an eye toward concrete proposals to make them more prompt,
fair, and transparent and to specify what constraints may be imposed on bishops
at each stage of that process.
We will pursue these goals according to three criteria.
The first criterion is genuine independence. Any
mechanism for addressing any complaint against a bishop must be free from bias
or undue influence by a bishop. Our structures must preclude bishops from
deterring complaints against them, from hampering their investigation, or from
skewing their resolution.
The second criterion relates to authority in
the Church. Because only the Pope has authority to discipline or remove
bishops, we will assure that our measures will both respect that authority and
protect the vulnerable from the abuse of ecclesial power.
Our third criterion is substantial involvement of the laity.
Lay people bring expertise in areas of investigation, law enforcement,
psychology, and other relevant disciplines, and their presence reinforces our
commitment to the first criterion of independence.
Finally, I apologize and humbly ask your forgiveness for
what my brother bishops and I have done and failed to do. Whatever the details
may turn out to be regarding Archbishop McCarrick or the many abuses in Pennsylvania
(or anywhere else), we already know that one root cause is the failure of
episcopal leadership. The result was that scores of beloved children of God
were abandoned to face an abuse of power alone. This is a moral catastrophe. It
is also part of this catastrophe that so many faithful priests who are pursuing
holiness and serving with integrity are tainted by this failure.
We firmly resolve, with the help of God's grace, never to
repeat it. I have no illusions about the degree to which trust in the bishops
has been damaged by these past sins and failures. It will take work to rebuild
that trust. What I have outlined here is only the beginning; other steps will
follow. I will keep you informed of our progress toward these goals.
Let me ask you to hold us to all of these resolutions. Let
me also ask you to pray for us, that we will take this time to reflect, repent,
and recommit ourselves to holiness of life and to conform our lives even more
to Christ, the Good Shepherd."
---
Keywords: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
USCCB, Cardinal Daniel N. Dinardo, Executive Committee, clergy sex abuse,
Pennsylvania, grand jury report, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, laity, experts,
Vatican, transparency, accountability.
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