DALLAS (AP) - Hoping to finally heal their fractured church, America's Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved a policy Friday that allows them to keep sexually abusive clergy in the priesthood but bar them from face-to-face contact with parishioners.
The policy, put together because of a sex scandal that has shaken the church to its core and forced a summit with the pope, drew sharp criticism from victims. Many had called for a zero tolerance policy that would oust all abusers.
The plan is intended to be binding on 178 mainstream dioceses across the country. It represents a major shift from the voluntary discipline guidelines the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has relied on for years, though it needs Vatican approval to become binding.
The prelates stood and applauded after they approved the policy on a 239-13 vote by secret ballot. It was the climactic moment of an extraordinary meeting that has been filled with wrenching accounts of abuse from victims and solemn expressions of remorse from church leaders.
"From this day forward, no one known to have sexually abused a child will work in the Catholic church in the United States," said Bishop Wilton Gregory, the conference president. He also apologized for "our tragically slow response in recognizing the horror" of sexual abuse.
Under the plan, abusers past and future will technically remain priests, but they will be prohibited from any work connected to the church — from teaching in parochial school to serving in a Catholic soup kitchen.
"He will not be permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, to wear clerical garb or to present himself publicly as a priest," says the policy, which covers 3,500 words in 17 separate articles.
Abusers still can be defrocked — removed from the priesthood — but it would be up to the presiding bishop, acting on the advice of an advisory board comprised mainly of lay people.
The policy says if some abusers are not removed from the priesthood because of "advanced age or infirmity," they are to lead "a life of prayer and penance."
The church would continue to financially support priests removed from ministry. Bishop Joseph Galante said he believed the priest could be sent to a "house of confinement," the church's version of a halfway house for clergy who require strict monitoring. Galante said there were several in the United States.
The plan will be reviewed in two years.
The swift change in church policy comes after months of unrelenting scandal in which at least 250 priests have resigned or been suspended because of misconduct claims. Victim after victim has come forward with tortured stories of abuse at the hands of priests, and accusations that church leaders merely shuffled molesters between parishes.
Even as the bishops cheered inside a Dallas hotel, a Nebraska jury was awarding $800,000 to a woman and her son, a former altar boy who was abused by a priest in the 1990s.
Before the summit, there was widespread speculation that the bishops would adopt a zero tolerance policy under which abusive priests would be automatically defrocked. That idea was dropped during closed-door debate.
Bishops said it seemed unfair to remove elderly men from the priesthood toward the end of their lives for allegations that in some cases date back decades.
"The majority of men these men are in their 60s, 70s and 80s," Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington said.
Salt Lake City Bishop George Niederauer, a member of the draft policy committee, said he felt the plan would protect children. But victims were outraged and about a dozen spilled into the hotel lobby to express their anger.
"This is akin to telling a street killer in the city `We're sending you to the country,'" said Mark Serrano of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "They will find children to prey upon."
Sheila Daley, a member of the liberal Catholic group Call to Action, called the policy "weak" and "inadequate."
"As long as their perpetrator can use the term 'father' to describe himself, he is potentially going to be able to lure another victim to him," Daley said.
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia said the policy reflected the need to show "Christ-like compassion" to priests.
"We call them our son," he said. "Therefore, we must continue to have that compassion and forgiveness like any parent."
After the vote, Gregory said critics calling for a stricter policy haven't read the document.
"This charter says to any priest or deacon, if you abuse a child you will be stripped of your ministry forever," he said. "This charter says you will never have the chance, through our church, to do it again."
Gregory then introduced Gov. Frank Keating of Oklahoma, a Catholic, who will head national board that will annually review whether bishops are complying with the charter.
The Vatican will be asked to approve parts of the policy to make it law in the U.S. church, which includes nearly 64 million Catholics. Since each diocese answers to Rome, authorization from the Vatican is needed to make the policy more than just a gentlemen's agreement.
The Rev. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, had no comment on the policy but said officials there would review it — likely a lengthy process.
There have been signs that leaders in Rome were displeased with the reforms the Americans were discussing. Last month, the dean of canon law at Pontifical Gregorian University wrote that bishops should avoid telling congregations that priests had sexually abused someone if the bishops believe the priests will not abuse again.
The bishops began working on the policy after an April summit on the scandal between Pope John Paul II and U.S. cardinals. The first draft was released only 11 days ago, and was revised in private discussions over the past week that culminated in a late-night session Thursday.
The speed with which the document was written and approved was stunning for a church that usually debates issues for years.
"This is a defining moment for us," Archbishop Harry Flynn said as he opened Friday's debate. "A moment for us to declare our resolve once and for all ... to root out a cancer in our church."
Under the policy, bishops must report all claims of sexual abuse of a minor to public authorities. The plan also calls for background checks for church employees who work with minors and diocesan review boards composed primarily of lay people to look at complaints and assess the diocese's response.
The bishops even took time to define sexual abuse — as any inappropriate contact with a child, regardless of whether it involves force, physical contact or whether any harm is apparent.
The church has been under intense scrutiny since January, when Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston acknowledged that he allowed a pedophile priest, John Geoghan, to continue to serve in parishes. Geoghan, now defrocked, was convicted this year of fondling a boy. More than 130 people say they Geoghan molested them.
Besides the loss of 250 of the nation's 46,000 priests, victims have filed at least 300 civil lawsuits against church officials and district attorneys have weighed criminal charges. Four bishops have resigned, two priests have committed suicide after being accused of abuse and another priest was shot.
Some Catholics have warned they will redirect donations to charities over which church leaders have no control.
Earlier in the meeting, contrite bishops yielded the floor to victims who had criticized, picketed and sued them over the years for their perceived indifference. Gregory said the crisis was "perhaps the gravest we have faced."
With the policy in hand, Gregory reminded his colleagues: "As the victim-survivors told us, `Listening is easy. Talk is cheap. Action is priceless.' That is our challenge. Ultimately, that is how we will be judged."