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scandal over sexual abuse of children by Roman
Catholic clergy is still raging in the courts,
yet the American bishops have made a wrongheaded
decision to cut back their auditing of local
dioceses' compliance with the church's new child
protection measures. The bishops concluded that
90 percent of dioceses had been examined, found
in compliance and can "self-report" next year.
The auditors will focus on dioceses that are not
carrying out the safeguards fully. This easing
of scrutiny hardly jibes with pledges of ongoing
accountability.
In the face of the dark universe of abuse by
priests - more than 700 dismissed in three years
for sexually abusing thousands of children - it
was commendable that the bishops' conference
enacted some firm remedies, including a
one-strike-and-you're-defrocked policy toward
abusers. But the laity is still waiting for an
accounting of bishops' culpability in protecting
predatory priests and paying hush money to
contain complaints.
That the crisis is far from over is clear in
California, where Bishop Tod Brown of the Orange County
diocese recently agreed to a record $100 million
damage settlement with 87 victims. Bishop
Brown's welcome decision to release internal
church documents as part of the agreement
contrasts with the struggle in the Archdiocese
of
Los Angeles, where Cardinal Roger Mahony
continues legalistic stonewalling of 500 abuse
claims. His refusal to turn over priests'
personnel files to prosecutors was criticized by
the laity panel the bishops appointed to monitor
their actions.
The panel warned last March that "there must
be consequences" for bishops who led the years
of cover-up. But the bishops still shy from
investigating each other, says the panel's
recently departed chairman, Robert Bennett. He
said the church needs "what amount to SWAT teams
to go out and rein in recalcitrant bishops and
make them do what is good for the whole church."
The church cannot count this bleak chapter
closed until it follows Mr. Bennett's wise
advice.