International

Abuses: Vatican mulls over options

By Vaiju Naravane

Paris April 24.With the Catholic Church in the U.S. embroiled in sex abuse scandals by priests, 13 U.S. cardinals and senior Vatican officials today pursued discussions on ways to deal with guilty clergymen and prevent such acts from being repeated.

Rumours of a forced resignation by two U.S. cardinals and notably Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston however came to naught. He stands accused of covering up for several catholic under his care found guilty of child sex abuse. Sever priests were repeatedly transferred in order to shield them from the law.

The Cardinals were considering a five-step approach to dealing with cases of paedophilia that would include reaching out to victims; removing a paedophile priest from office while an investigation goes on; informing civil authorities; sending the priest to a therapeutic centre for evaluation; diocesan review boards made up of lay people as well as clergy. The Cardinals who met the Pope for a working lunch today are to issue a statement later. The Vatican underscored the importance of the meeting with a top-level delegation of its own, including the head of the Curia or the Papal cabinet Cardinal Angelo Sodano. In his address on Tuesday, the Pope said "People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young.''

Vatican observers see this as a clear signal to Church leaders that transgression will no longer be permitted. Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles said: "The Pope is being as clear as he can be. There is no place for abusers in the priesthood, whatsoever. You can convert hearts and offer reconciliation but you can't reassign them.''

Others found this position difficult to accept. "How do you handle it when someone comes up and says someone has done something wrong,'' one of the participants, Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, said on Wednesday morning. "Do you immediately walk away from that person. Can you presume that he is accused and therefore he is guilty? How do you approach it,'' he asked.

There was wide speculation that as a result of the Pope's remarks at least a couple of heads, especially that of Cardinal Law, would roll. However, sacking a Cardinal is a very difficult business.

``It is almost impossible to fire a Cardinal. Then all this has a great deal to do with Vatican politics. The Pope is very old and tired. The battle for his succession is already under way and no one would like to upset the delicate balance of numbers at this time, '' Alberto Melloni, Professor of Religion in Rome, told The Hindu. The Pope has named several Cardinals in a complicated numbers game and let's not forget that the Catholic Church in the U.S. is one of the biggest and certainly the richest in the world. There are several influential Cardinals within the Vatican and they will not allow the enforced retiring of an American Cardinal.

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