The head of the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops' conference says he disagrees with those who believe that allowing priests to marry or ordaining women would help end the church's current sex abuse crisis.
"Not only would it not help, but it still remains contrary to the teachings and traditions of our church," said Bishop Wilton Gregory. "We cannot address the crisis by denying who we are as a people of faith."
Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the molestation scandals involving priests will end only when church leaders take definitive steps to restore parishioners' trust.
"The crisis will end when we, as bishops, can convince our people and pledge ourselves to making sure that children are safe," Gregory said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Gregory left the door open to asking the Vatican to approve a binding sex abuse policy for American clergy.
The conference serves as the church's national voice on social and religious issues, implementing policies set in Rome. As president, Gregory can influence - but cannot decide - what actions the bishops take.
"There's a possibility that we might propose some action that would need validation by the Holy See," said Gregory, who leads the Diocese of Belleville, Ill.
About 10 years ago, the conference proposed guidelines for handling sex abuse cases involving clergy, but bishops have been free to set their own policies.
If the bishops wanted to take stronger action, such as imposing rules for handling sex abuse cases that would be binding in all U.S. dioceses, they would need the Vatican's approval.
"We, as bishops, have to guarantee that in the future, no priest who has been accused of a credible molestation against a child, is ever put back in a position of pastoral responsibility where he can act out again," he said.
Any proposals to address the scandal would likely be crafted by a committee of U.S. bishops, then presented at a meeting of the nearly 300 active American bishops this June in Dallas. Gregory said a proposal could be made urging bishops to report abuse allegations to prosecutors, even in states where such reporting is not required by law.
Gregory said "a good portion" of the discussion about the abuse scandal will be conducted publicly.
Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said victims will be watching the bishops closely.
"The church has hired the best public relations people to assist them, so they've been very good on words lately," Blaine said. "We would be looking for a change in action, not just words."
Gregory took no position on whether Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston should resign. Law has admitted he shuttled former priest John Geoghan from parish to parish despite evidence Geoghan had molested children.
"I think that would be completely inappropriate for me to offer any opinion one way or another," Gregory said.
Law's handling of the Geoghan case sparked an outcry over the church's response to abuse allegations, leading bishops nationwide to remove dozens of priests suspected of molesting children. One bishop, the Rev. Anthony O'Connell of the Palm Beach, Fla., diocese, resigned after admitting he inappropriately touched a teen-ager more than 25 years ago.
Geoghan was convicted of fondling a boy and is now in prison. Last month, Gregory and Law attended a meeting of the bishops' Administrative Committee, where Law briefed his colleagues on the Boston situation. Gregory would not reveal details of Law's statements, but said the cardinal's comments were "very forthright, very humble."