Clergy from religious orders, who make up one-third of the nation's priests, can continue working in restricted roles in their communities even if they've sexually abused minors, under a proposal backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The proposal to be discussed this week in Philadelphia by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men means that predator priests affiliated with religious communities are treated less severely than priests under the jurisdiction of bishops and dioceses.
U.S. bishops adopted a sexual-abuse policy in Dallas two months ago, requiring bishops to dismiss priests who have abused minors. They cannot function as priests, lead worship or present themselves publicly as priests, which many bishops have interpreted to exclude them from any church work whatsoever.
But leaders of religious orders say abusive priests could be allowed to work in restricted office roles. However, they would not be allowed to work with children or function as priests.
"Someone keeping the books for a diocese would be in a public position, and bishops won't allow that," said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the bishops' conference. "But religious orders operate like families. In a religious house, everybody has a job. So even if a man is prohibited from functioning as a priest, he could work in the archives or hold some other job."
Men's religious orders are made up of priests and brothers (nonclergy), who form communities usually guided by vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Monks devote themselves to prayer in contemplative settings. But other orders are active in running schools, hospitals, retreat centers and parishes.
Private meeting
Unlike the bishops' meeting in Dallas, the major superiors are conducting all discussions about sexual abuse behind closed doors at this week's four-day conference "so people can speak freely," leaders said. No survivors of abuse have been invited to participate.
"This group, like any private institution, has the right to private discussions," said Thomas Plante, a psychologist at Santa Clara University who consults with religious orders about sexual abuse. "But secrecy is a hot issue for Catholics now. Anything that smells of secrecy is going to be met with skepticism and undermine trust."
Members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) met with bishops during the Dallas meeting. But two of SNAP's demands were left out of the bishops' charter: no one who had ever abused a minor could be a priest, and bishops who covered up the abuse must resign.
Pope John Paul II appeared to set a course for U.S. cardinals and bishops dealing with clergy sex scandals in April. He summoned them to Rome and insisted there was "no place in the priesthood or religious life" for predator priests.
But bishops stopped short of calling for the return to lay status of all priest offenders in their policy. Leaders of the major superiors group said religious orders, too, are more likely to offer abusers alternative work than show them the door.
"They're saying religious orders are a safe place for sex offenders," said Mark Serrano, a SNAP spokesman in Leesburg, Va. "They're saying, 'Trust us.' But leaders of religious orders have proven to be indifferent to the suffering of victims just as bishops have."
Talking about the policy
The Rev. Ted Keating, executive director of the major superiors group, said members will talk this week about select aspects of the bishops' policy regarding accountability and victim support. One proposal has religious orders teaming together by regions to offer outreach to abuse victims.
Discussions are also under way to create a national review board of laypeople to scrutinize religious orders in the same way that a board led by Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating functions for bishops. In addition, regional review boards may also be developed.
"We don't need to write a new charter," Father Ted Keating said. "We'll adapt the [bishops] policy to make sense for our way of life."
He said members may issue a statement during the meetings to clarify their stance.
This year, leaders of the major superiors group consulted with the bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse in drafting the sexual-abuse policy. But religious orders weren't automatically obligated to follow the policy because they operate independently of the bishops.
The major superiors group has offered repeated assurances to the bishops' conference that it embraces the principles of the policy. The group has 260 major superiors as members who represent the more than 20,000 vowed priests and brothers in the United States and seven religious orders in Texas.
Religious order priests working in diocesan parishes come under the jurisdiction of the local bishops and the superior of the religious order. Bishops are obligated under the policy to remove order priests from diocesan parishes if they commit sexual abuse.
Sister Walsh said bishops are also insisting on knowing when a religious order is housing an offender in their dioceses. Under the new charter, nonabusive priests from religious orders who work in diocesan parishes also must provide documentation to the bishop showing they've never committed a sexual offense.
Cooperation expected
"We expect them to fully cooperate with the policy," said Bishop George Niederauer of Salt Lake City, who is on the bishops' sexual-abuse committee. "It's in their interest. They know the expectations of the Catholic people and of the bishops."
The largest U.S. religious orders are the Jesuits and Franciscans, which have worldwide ministries. Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo said that, because only U.S. bishops are bound by the policy approved in June, religious orders might try to transfer abusive priests to other countries.
"If an abusive priest was sent to another country, the religious order would be bound to tell about his past," said the bishop, a former provincial for the religious order Oblates of Mary Immaculate. "But bishops in other countries aren't bound to follow the U.S. policy."
Because of this possibility, victims groups said the stakes are higher for them with religious orders. They're calling for greater openness and transparency on the part of the orders, just as the bishops pledged in Dallas.
There are more than three times as many women's religious orders in the country than men's. Each group has seen its numbers decline steadily since the mid-1960s. Today, contemplative orders are seeing slight growth.
"A lot of people have had careers and busy lives turn to contemplative orders to pull back and be more prayerful," said Dr. Patricia Ann Wittberg, a scholar of religious orders who teaches in Indianapolis. "Men join religious orders because of the community life. They see diocesan priesthood as too solitary."
During the bishops' June meeting, the failings of some religious orders to respond to abuse was brought to the bishops' attention by Dr. Michael Bland, a victim of clergy sexual abuse. He first reported the abuse years ago, when he was still a priest and a member of a religious order.
"The religious community to which I belonged began to question me," Dr. Bland told the bishops, "asking why I said anything, questioning my intent ... and telling me that I was a loose cannon."
Two years later, he left religious life. Today, he's a psychologist recently appointed to Gov. Keating's national review board and works with victims for the Chicago Archdiocese. He said his perpetrator is a full professor and administrator at a Catholic university.
"The priesthood lost me but kept the perpetrator," he said.