Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
said Sunday that the Vatican and the U.S. Roman Catholic Church were not
locking horns over a policy of zero tolerance toward sexual abuse by priests.
Gregory, who also heads the Belleville Diocese, returned to St. Louis Sunday
from Rome, where Vatican officials issued a letter Friday stating that some
aspects of the sex abuse policy conflicted with church law.
Some have interpreted the letter as a rejection of the tough policy that
Gregory helped to formulate in Dallas this June. But Gregory dismissed that
assessment.
"The term 'rejected' is not accurate," he said at a news conference
at Lambert Field.
In Friday's letter, the Vatican called for the formation of a commission to
revise the policy on sexual abuse. Specifically, the church officials in Rome
are concerned over the due process rights of priests accused of abuse.
But Gregory said he was confident the fundamentals of the policy would remain
in place. And he said Pope John Paul II was looking for discussion on the
matter.
"The Holy See has not made a decision and will not make a decision until
the mixed commission meets," he said of the panel, which will have four
Vatican representatives and four U.S. bishops.
But while Gregory downplayed the conflict, he returns to a region where
Catholics appear to be divided over the Vatican's actions last week.
Some parishioners interviewed at St. Louis area parishes Sunday praised the
Vatican for standing up for priests who may be falsely accused of abuse.
But others - including a group of victims advocates who passed out fliers at a
St. Louis parish - said the Vatican was endangering children by watering down a
strong zero tolerance policy.
Opinions differed even at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in St. Louis, where the
Rev. Michael Campbell was removed as pastor and the Rev. Gary P. Wolken was
removed as associate pastor after separate allegations of sexual abuse.
Mary Kraatz, 62, said a zero tolerance policy should have been in place long
ago, and having another committee discuss the issue was one too many.
"I think it's gone on long enough," Kraatz said. "I think they
should do something about it right now and end this."
Parishioners also were not in agreement when the Archdiocese of St. Louis
removed Campbell, some said.
Julie Blanco, 36, said it was important to protect children but it was also
important to balance that against due process for those accused.
"You must believe the children first, but there are people who are falsely
accused, and they can't be thrown out with everyone else," said Blanco,
the mother of two children, ages 9 and 6. "I think the bishops certainly
tried to do their very, very best, and the Vatican is trying to make sure it is
balanced."
Tom Griesedieck attends St. Cronan Catholic Church, and he said he doesn't care
for the bishops' no-tolerance policy. At St. Cronan, 1203 South Boyle Avenue,
the Rev. Joseph D. Ross was removed from the priesthood by the pope for actions
that included pleading guilty of sexually molesting an 11-year-old boy while at
Christ the King Church in University City.
Griesedieck said each case should be judged individually. "In the past,
the church didn't do enough about the problem, but now maybe they're coming
down too hard."
But Steve Pona, with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the
church could not supersede U.S. criminal and civil laws. "Their first
response as a citizen in the U.S. is to report crimes to law enforcement,"
Pona said.
Pona was one of a dozen members of the group handing out fliers after Sunday
Mass at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church on the campus of St. Louis
University. One parishioner, Diane Maixner, 47, said the Vatican was
"putting their heads in the sand." The church can't continue to
handle abuse allegations like it has, said Maixner, the mother of two teens.
"They've got to deal with it."
Matt Moak, 40, and Shelly Meyer, 36, attend St. Gabriel Church in St. Louis
Hills. They also feel the Vatican is out of touch and too far removed.
"It seems like they always protected (the priests), and now they continue
to protect their own," said Meyer, the mother of a 4-year-old and an
18-month-old.
St. Francis Xavier parishioner Sue Waugh-Masurat, 50, said it was difficult to
come up with a policy that protects children within a religion that also values
forgiveness and healing. The U.S. bishops created a policy to protect victims,
and now the pendulum could swing too far the other way in protecting priests,
she said.
"There's no easy answer," she said. "It's hard to find our way
in all this."
Gregory urged patience among Catholics so officials can arrive at a "just,
proper and appropriate conclusion" to what he called one of the most
pressing matters to face the U.S. Catholic church. He did not speculate when
the new commission might reach a decision.
"Any amount of time spent doing it right is time well spent," he
said.