Voice of the Faithful says the letter the Vatican sent on Monday, May
16, to bishops around the world regarding child sexual abuse guidelines
does not go far enough to protect children.
In response, VOTF states again the recommendations made to the
USCCB’s National Review Board earlier this year.
These recommendations
would strengthen the U.S. bishops’ policy, which is acknowledged to
offer better protection against abusers than the version announced in
the Vatican Letter.
VOTF offered the recommendations in light of the loopholes that
permitted credibly accused priests to remain in parishes in Philadelphia
even though the diocese remained “in compliance” with the USCCB
guidelines.
Among the specific recommendations VOTF made to the review board and Office of Child & Youth Protection are these:
- Amending the charter to mandate specific disciplinary action for future charter violations;
- Making audits more effective, including, for example, unrestricted access to priests’ personnel files;
- Re-configuring diocesan review boards to ensure their complete independence, objectivity and expertise and to remove any conflicts of interest;
- Changing the structure of diocesan victim assistance programs to insulate victims from chancery officials, diocesan law firms and insurance companies;
- Supporting a call for bishops to stop opposing changes in state statutes of limitations that benefit clergy sexual abuse victims; and
- Holding NRB listening sessions nationwide to hear lay Catholics’ reactions to clergy child sexual abuse and its cover-up and their expectations for resolving the scandal.
VOTF recognizes that the Vatican tried to take into account the
Church’s relationship to governments around the world where citizens do
not have the remedy of law.
But far better, would be the establishment
of the highest moral and legal standards for bishops that could be
adjusted for special cases, rather than something less that clearly
continues to expose children to abuse.