A liberal Roman Catholic group has come out against the adoption of a "zero tolerance" policy toward priests who molest children, saying those who commit misdemeanors may deserve a second chance.
The group, Call to Action, mailed its recommendations on May 15 to America's bishops, who are scheduled to meet in mid-June to set new policies on sexual abuse by priests. Disagreement over "zero tolerance" is expected at the meeting.
Call to Action, which is based in Chicago and claims 25,000 members in 40 chapters, has long been critical of the church hierarchy.
The group said that only those convicted of felonies should be automatically defrocked.
With sexual misdemeanors, the group said, a priest should serve any criminal sentence and undergo therapy, after which an independent church review board should decide whether he should be reassigned to active ministry. If the priest were reassigned, the church would publicize his past.