In a decision certain to impact upon Irish clerical sex abuse cases, the Vatican yesterday appeared to reject the new sexual abuse policy formulated by the US Bishops' Conference in Dallas last June, calling instead for the formation of a "mixed commission" of Curia and US bishops to draw up definitive, Vatican-approved guidelines.
At Dallas, the US bishops came up with a set of "norms" relative to allegations of clerical sexual abuse which were then formally passed on to Rome for the Vatican's "recognitio" (formal Holy See approval).
Although the US bishops' "norms" fell short of the "zero tolerance" policy being urged by some, they nonetheless made it easier for a sex-offender priest to be defrocked, while at the same time they called for full co-operation between bishops, their diocesan offices and civil authorities.
The Vatican's response to the US bishops' "norms" came by way of a letter released yesterday from Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the US Bishops Conference.
Cardinal Re writes: "The application of the policies adopted at the plenary assembly in Dallas can be the source of confusion and ambiguity, because the "norms" and the "charter" contain provisions which in some aspects are difficult to reconcile with the universal law of the Church.
"Moreover, the experience of the last few months has shown that the terminology of these documents is at times vague or imprecise and therefore difficult to interpret."
Cardinal Re's letter does not specify the "aspects" of the US "norms" that conflict with "universal Church law" but it is believed that the Vatican has grave reservations about at least four aspects of the Dallas resolutions: (1) the lack of an appeal process for an accused priest; (2) the proposal to abolish the statute of limitations for sex abuse offences; (3) the level of co-operation with civil and police authorities; (4) the definition of sexual abuse, considered too vague and too broad.
The Vatican argues that an accused priest, like anyone else, should not be deprived of his rights under the "due process of the law" while senior Curia officials have regularly expressed scepticism about sex abuse accusations that suddenly emerge from a distant past of 25 or 30 years ago.
Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, speaking yesterday at a Vatican news conference unrelated to the US "norms", indicated something of Church thinking when saying: "The trust of the priest-son in the bishop cannot pass through outside conditioning such as the laws of a state wherever it might be."
Speaking at a different Rome news conference yesterday, Bishop Gregory was keen to play down the idea that the US "norms" had in any way been rejected, adding that he was neither surprised nor disappointed by the Vatican's call for a "mixed commission".
"We're dealing with basically a sound document that needs modification rather than recasting." Bishop Gregory, whose formal reply to the Vatican agreeing to the "mixed commission" was also released yesterday, went on to tell reporters: "The purpose of the commission is to bring the best wisdom of the Holy See and our conference to a discussion of these issues.
"Our goal is to finish our work in time for results to be presented to our conference assembly next month."
Bishop Gregory also rejected allegations that the Vatican was not fully aware of the sufferings of those abused by priests, saying: "The officials of the Roman Curia who have been involved in discussions on the matter this week have shown great pastoral care in their sensitivity to pain caused by victims, their commitment to the need to protect society from perpetrators of abuse, their regard for rights of the accused and the anguish caused to faithful Catholics by this sinful and criminal conduct."