| Secret Vatican norms on abuse show conflicts
with U.S. policy
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
Previously secret Vatican norms governing sex abuse cases,
obtained in mid-November by NCR, appear generally consistent with
policies adopted by the American bishops in Washington Nov. 13, but experts who
have reviewed both documents see at least two possible conflicts:
- The Vatican norms state that cases involving sexual abuse of a
minor by a priest “must only be pursued in a judicial process.” The
norms adopted in Washington, on the other hand, empower bishops to use
administrative means to remove a priest from ministry if pursuing the case in a
church court proves impossible.
- The Vatican norms state that such cases are covered by
“pontifical secrecy,” a grade of confidentiality just short of
sacramental confession. How that will affect the bishops’ pledge of full
cooperation with civil authorities is not clear.
A consultant for the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual
Abuse, however, told NCR Nov. 20 that both potential conflicts are more
hypothetical than real.
The previously unpublished Vatican norms, promulgated by John Paul
II on April 30, 2001, but released to bishops only on a case-by-case basis, are
available on the NCR Web site under “documents.” (For
complete web address see below.)
As was already known from media reports, the norms state that six
grave “delicts,” a word meaning “offense,” including sexual
abuse of a minor, are reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith. Bishops must inform the congregation when a case arises and request
permission to proceed. In some cases, the congregation itself may take up the
case (NCR, Dec. 14, 2001).
Upon obtaining the full set of norms, NCR asked two veteran
canon lawyers, one in North America and the other in Rome, to examine the norms
in light of the program adopted by the U.S. bishops. Both did so on condition
of anonymity.
Both highlighted the question of extrajudicial measures to remove
priests. Article 17 of the Vatican norms seems to rule this out, stating
flatly: “The more grave delicts reserved to the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith must only be pursued in a judicial process.”
Much of the Vatican’s concern with the original plan adopted
by the U.S. bishops at their meeting last June in Dallas centered on this
point. The revised norms worked out by a “mixed commission” of
Vatican officials and U.S. bishops in late October envision that such cases
will be handled in church courts.
Under Norm 9 of the U.S. program, however, bishops can use
administrative means “at all times” if the legal route is
unavailable.
“Norm 9 is hard to reconcile with the baldness and starkness
of Article 17, which seems to rule out administrative solutions,” one
canonist said. He predicted arguments as to which document trumps the other --
the Vatican norms or the U.S. norms.
Yet Msgr. John Renken of the diocese of Springfield, Ill., a
canonist and consultant for the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual
Abuse, told NCR Nov. 20 that such a conflict is highly unlikely.
For the most part, Renken said, Norm 9 will be invoked while a
bishop is waiting for a canonical process to begin. In virtually every case
that he could imagine, using Norm 9 to impose permanent removal from ministry
would be because a “delict” could not be established, and hence the
Vatican norms would be irrelevant.
For example, if the canonical statute of limitations has run out
and the Vatican declines to grant a waiver, Renken said, technically speaking
there is no crime to prosecute, and hence Article 17 does not apply.
A separate flash point comes in Norm 11 of the U.S. program, which
specifies that dioceses will “comply with all applicable civil laws with
respect to the reporting of allegations … to civil authorities and will
cooperate in their investigation.” Article 25 of the Vatican norms,
however, states, “Cases of this nature are subject to pontifical
secrecy.”
Renken said, “Exactly what ramifications this may have will
have to be worked out. But we are committed to cooperating fully with the civil
authorities. That will not be voided by some other statement.”
Dominican Fr. Thomas Doyle, an expert on sex abuse issues who has
testified for victims in scores of cases, said civil law would prevail in any
event.
“The civil law will have a hard time if the case files remain
in the Vatican due to diplomatic immunity, but if the files are over here
somewhere, attorneys can get them, because that level of secrecy is not the
same as confessional privilege,” Doyle told NCR.
Other observations on the Vatican norms:
- Article 5 restates the statute of limitations on sexual abuse
of a minor, which is 10 years from the victim’s 18th birthday. Several
bishops in Washington said they expect the Vatican to almost automatically
grant waivers for American cases.
One of the canon lawyers contacted by NCR, however, was
skeptical.
“I have heard of no canonist who believes that dispensations
will be routine,” he said. “Bishops who think that they will be able
to ‘purify’ the church of anyone who has had even a single offense,
no matter how long ago, are either bluffing or simply ignorant.”
- Both analysts agreed that the norms reflect a desire to
expedite cases. Article 6 states there is no appeal from the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith. Normally decisions by Vatican offices can be
appealed to the church’s highest court, the Apostolic Signatura, known for
its scrupulous attention to procedure. A normal appeal to the Signatura might
take two to three years, while waits of up to five years are not uncommon. That
time span should be abbreviated under the norms.
- Article 19 of the Vatican norms allow the congregation to add
new accusations to a process already underway, so a tribunal does not have to
start from scratch in order to address them.
- Article 20 allows a tribunal to protect the anonymity of an
accuser, even from the accused priest. This is a marked change in favor of
victims, according to one canonist, since the Signatura has traditionally
insisted that knowing one’s accuser is part of the “natural right of
defense.”
John L. Allen Jr. is NCR Rome correspondent. His e-mail
address is jallen@natcath.org
The document cited in this article is available at
http://www.natcath.org/NCR_Online/documents/index.htm The document is
titled VATICAN NORMS GOVERNING GRAVE OFFENSES, INCLUDING SEXUAL ABUSE OF
MINORS.
National Catholic Reporter, November 29,
2002
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