SUMMONED TO ROME

After leaders of the U.S. bishops conference met with Pope John Paul II and Vatican officials last week to discuss the escalating priest sexual-abuse crisis, a statement was issued affirming “the Holy See’s desire to listen and to support our efforts to respond effectively to the concerns we share with our people.” This may have been intended as a signal of engagement toward solving a problem; it was taken by many as an indication that Rome merely wanted to distance itself from the scandal.

There is no such ambiguity in the pontiff’s latest step. In calling 11 American cardinals to Rome next week, the pope clearly is taking a public role in solving the problem. A small number of priests have done an extraordinary amount of damage and extraordinary steps – it has been more than a decade since the pope summoned American cardinals to Rome to discuss such controversial issues as birth control and divorce- are called for.

Precisely what John Paul II will demand of the cardinals is not known, but indications are that it will be the establishment of a nationwide uniform and mandated policy for reporting allegations of sexual abuse, not just to church hierarchy, but to civil authorities as well. The 250 American bishops hold their annual meeting in June; they are equals, unable to do much more than issue nonbinding resolutions and recommendations individual bishops are free to disregard. With the pope’s backing, however, the cardinals can impose a mandatory policy.

All but 11 states exempt the clergy from the mandatory reporting laws that cover those who work in health care, education, recreation and other fields in contact with children. State legislatures may be reluctant to remove this statutory exemption, but nothing prevents any denomination from removing it for itself as a matter of internal policy.

If that shield is to be removed, John Paul II and the cardinals must, of course, come up an effective, fair and clear policy to take its place. The Archdiocese of Chicago offers a model.

Chicago’s procedures were established in 1993 by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin after he was accused that year of sexual abuse by a man who later recanted. The archdiocese created a nine-member Professional Fitness Review Board, an independent panel with six lay members not employed by the church, including one victim of sexual abuse, plus three church employees. The board’s scope is narrowly focused upon sexual abuse of minors; it does not concern itself with other cases of violations of priest celibacy, such as consensual sex between adults.

Information often comes to the board via a victim hotline. The board administrator interviews the accuser and the priest separately, the review board convenes within five days to evaluate the information. If the board finds reasonable cause to believe abuse has occurred, the archdiocese alerts the Illinois social welfare agency. The state’s investigation, and the decision on whether to prosecute, then proceeds without any influence by the diocese. The diocese review board, however, continues its own investigation and any decisions it makes regarding the treatment or reassignment of priests, or of compensating victims, is made public. Since this policy was implemented, the board has reviewed more than 50 cases going back 40 years and has made 12 referrals to civil authorities.

The Chicago policy has critics, especially regarding the board’s reporting reasonable cause to a social welfare agency and not to law enforcement. Still, it beats the current policy of denial, cover-up and payoffs hands down. And overriding any quibbles about the details of a policy is this: The anguish felt by the followers of this faith and the suspicion heaped unfairly on the vast majority of good priests must end. The meeting next week in Rome is where the end begins.