Editorial

Zero tolerance policy: Include in national standards

Following the unprecedented summit in Rome, leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States will develop a set of national standards on sexual abuse of minors by clergy. Hopefully those standards will include a "zero tolerance" policy.

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Perhaps the church has learned its lesson. Clearly, any priest or religious who has been proven to have abused even one child must not be allowed to minister again. The safety of children must be uppermost in our minds.

Bishop supports standard. Here in the Diocese of Madison, Bishop William H. Bullock has supported a zero tolerance standard. "Zero tolerance on cases of proven allegations of sexual abuse of minors or children has been implied in our Diocesan Policy and practice since July 1993," he said in a recent statement.

The bishop pointed to the "extraordinarily high" rate of recidivism in sexual abuse cases. Experience has proven that clergy who abuse one child often go on to abuse others. Even most of those who have undergone treatment continue their abusive behavior.

Holy Father speaks forcefully. Pope John Paul II, too, spoke forcefully and unambiguously about the matter of clergy sexual abuse, "The abuse which has caused this crisis is by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God."

The Holy Father expressed his "profound sense of solidarity and concern" to the victims and their families. This was echoed by Bishop Bullock who said, "We must never ever forget the victims and their families and we apologize for the priests who did these sinful and criminal acts."

Continue to pray. Besides supporting our bishops as they prepare a strong national policy, I would encourage Catholics to continue to pray. As our Holy Father has said, "God alone is the source of holiness, and it is to him above all that we must turn for forgiveness, for healing, and for the grace to meet this challenge with uncompromising courage and harmony of purpose."

We must pray for our church leaders, our priests and religious, and all members of the church and our society in this time of crisis. We must strive to follow the teachings of Christ, trusting in God to lead us on the right path. Drafting a strong national policy is the first step.

Mary C. Uhler, editor