The Holy Father’s approval of a new procedure and process for holding bishops accountable if they fail in their responsibilities to protect children, and to assign this task to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is an enormous step forward in the Church’s long effort to rid itself of the scourge of clergy sex abuse and to create a culture that sees the protection of children as one of its highest duties. The issue, given its gravity, has become a threshold issue for many Catholics, that is to say, if the Church hierarchy can’t deal with us, many people in the pews will not listen to anything else the Church’s leaders have to say.
The key issue here is the accountability of bishops. As Msgr. Stephen Rossetti said this morning in the Washington Post article on the story, “It’s a major thing it’s putting bishops on notice. ‘If you don’t deal with this, you have to face the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,’ and no one wants to face the CDF.” The Church’s canons have consequences, and now they have consequences for bishops who drag their feet or otherwise compromise the Church’s effort to deal with this insidious problem.
Read Full Article »