Vatican focuses spotlight, avoids specific plan

It would be presumptuous to tell the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church how to do their jobs. But the results of the extraordinary meeting between American cardinals and the pope last week at the Vatican invites public discussion and comment.

Clearly, the highest level of the church's hierarchy is deeply concerned about multiplying publicity of sexual abuse by members of the all-male clergy. The recent attention to these cases, including some that are decades old, has resulted in the unprecedented scrutiny of pastors and bishops who have, either actually or allegedly, engaged in sins that are all but unspeakable.

A basic religious tenet in the Christian tradition is the effective redemption available to all who sin. And since every human is subject to sin, everyone in some way participates in offenses that require forgiveness and shares equally in the opportunity for redemption. This is no less true of priests who engage in sinful activities.

Everyone who believes in a religious code is also subject to a civil code. The actions that prompted last week's Vatican meeting are not just sinful, they are also illegal. This is why many bishops already have made it a practice to refer any reports of sexual misconduct by priests to civil authorities for investigation and prosecution if warranted.

But that is only one part of this complex and perplexing problem. Another part is the decision by many bishops to maintain the ministries of admitted sexual offenders. This has been accomplished mostly by transferring errant priests to new parishes without informing parishioners.

As a result, some of the American cardinals went to last week's meeting seeking clear direction on what they hoped would result in the uniform handling of all such cases. Instead, bishops have been left to their own discretion in these matters.

The statement at the end of the meeting allowed for the U.S. bishops to establish national standards, but wide leeway remains for administrative action. Indeed, the language of the statement made it appear that only priests whose conduct is "notorious" and who are guilty of "serial, predatory sexual abuse of minors" would be targeted for defrocking.

By definition, "serial" implies repeated offenses. But a big question for many lay observers of the church's response to any sexual activity by Catholic priests is why even one incident would be tolerated.

While some bishops notify police and prosecutors when priests are accused of sexual wrongdoing, others have not. Last week's Vatican statement did not specify what should be done. This makes it all the more important for victims to report to proper civil authorities any crime they think may have been committed.

Meanwhile, there are other victims inside the church whose pain and suffering also are significant. These are the priests of the church who have hewn to God's commandments as best they can and deplore the aberrant behavior of the few priests who succumb to sinful desires.

Both those who sin and those who strive to avoid sin deserve the prayers of the faithful.