Church orders step back from zero tolerance plan *West Australian* Aug 12 02

NEW YORK

AMERICAN leaders of Catholic religious orders say sexually abusive priests should be kept away from children but not expelled -- a less restrictive plan than the zero-tolerance policy bishops adopted earlier this year.
Victim advocates immediately criticised the plan, saying it gave orders too much freedom in disciplining guilty priests.
The conference does not have the authority to make the plan binding.
The Conference of Major Superiors of Men, comprising heads of groups such as Benedictines and Jesuits, acknowledged members had sometime failed to discipline errant clergy properly. "We are deeply sorry for that and publicly apologise for whenever and however we have failed victims or families," they said.
The vote came at the end of the group's annual meeting, where spiritual leaders discussed how the abuse policy American bishops approved two months ago could be adapted for their religious communities.
Conference leaders, drawing on the findings of experts on sex offenders, said they believed some abusers could recover and serve in administrative jobs far from young people.
The religious orders pledged the men would undergo treatment and remain under close watch -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

FURTHER READING

A: Guidelines for handling clergy abusing children; www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/nonmarital.htm Feb 19 2002
!!!: Father Kelly's escape to Belgium stymied The West Australian Feb 28 02
F: Paying for sins of the fathers; Anglican, Catholic, United and Presbyterian Churches in Canada face child-abuse compensation of $C1000m; Australian dioceses facing ruin The Weekend Australian, Mar 2-3 02
B: Fathers would make the best "Fathers"; how to select clergy; Mar 4 02
K: Hoopmann, Queensland Lutheran Pastor, denies sex charge The West Australian Mar 6 02
L: Father Geoghan -- Deal close on $60m U.S. sex payout The West Australian Mar 7 02
!!!: Polish archbishop quits over sneaking down tunnel to dormitory The West Australian Mar 30 02
@: Priest abuse and abortion woman gets $2m payout in Los Angeles area - Fr John Lenihan; The West Australian, April 3 02
!!!: Irish Bishop resigns over boy-sex cleric, tried everything but dismissal! The West Australian, Apr 3 02
@: Scandal keeps lawyer Stephen Rubino busy with 250 clients in 3 continents The West Australian Apr 3 02
@: Abuse of Trust: Child Sexual Abuse and the Australian Churches with world background, more than 100 clergy from the Australian Catholic and Anglican Churches have been convicted of child sexual abuse in the past 5 years, ABC Background Briefing www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s531384.htm Apr 14 02
@: Teachers jailed, Victorian couple John Alexander, Elspeth McKenzie, seduced 14-year-old Wesley schoolgirl The West Australian Apr 20 02
@: Priest was evil one, says cover-up victim , Fr Paul Shanley said he kept silence about cardinal abusing him in seminary, hierarchy conspiracy to allow Fr Shanley access to youth since 1967, Cardinal B.Law's secret Rome trip, and all 8 U.S. cardinals off to Rome, Victim's lives broken The Weekend Australian Roy Eccleston Apr 20-21 2002
@: U.S. cardinals stop short of 'zero tolerance' bluff, CNN com/2002/WORLD/europe/04/24/pope.talks/index.html Apr 25 02
@: Sex hush riles seminarians in Rome, it's not just a U.S. problem, donations going to hush money, faulting of U.S. cardinals for spread of sexual misconduct; bishops covering up offenders; no apology to victims The West Australian Apr 27 02
@: R.C. priest Paul Shanley talked up boy-love, bishops had evidence for years The West Australian Apr 27 02
#: ABC Radio talk about RC priests' problems with celibacy, some go visiting prostitutes, and there's been a decade of sex-abuse charges. May 03 02
!!!: Confessional rape? Accused U.S. priest Paul Shanley may be jailed for life for rapes in confessional; Boston diocese backs out of settling for $A75m for 86 John Geoghan victims (already paid $28m for 40), other victims cited The Sunday Times May 05 02

#: Priest Maurice Blackwell shot by accuser in US sex case; Fr Don Rooney suicided on Apr 4 The West Australian May 16 02
#: Sydney R.C. "Pell denies sex cover-up report;" threatened legal action to stop "60 Minutes" televising next Sunday allegations that he had attempted to silence a sex-abuse victim by "buying him off" The West Australian May 31 02
@: Catholic Church admits hush edict was imposed on Australian victims of sexual abuse, despite a week of denials by Sydney Archbishop George Pell [joined by Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart] The West Australian Jun 10 02
#: New Zealand R.C. bishops apologise to sex abuse victims, 9 convicted since 1990 The Record Jul 11 02
@: Priest Paul Shanley denies Massachusetts 1979-1989 child rape (Gregory Ford case); insurance premiums skyrocket, firms win Minnesota case not to pay $1m because R.C. officials knew priest there had 15-year abuse history The West Australian Jul 12 02
@: G-G Hollingworth may face police probe, Anglican Bishop Shearman's 'affair' with 14-y-o, allegation re 10-y-o, Brisbane inquiry The West Australian Jul 22 02
!!!: Victims claim U.S. priests still abusing, Canadian police charge two U.S. priests with soliciting boys during papal World Youth visit! The West Australian Jul 31 02
#: 4000 meet to give laity a voice, (about the July 20 Boston conference of the Voice of the Faithful with the slogan "Keep the Faith, Change the Church.") The National Catholic Reporter www.natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives/ 080202/080202a.htm Aug 2 02
@: U.S. monks step back from zero tolerance plan The West Australian Aug 12 02
!!!: See-through confessionals? Where seeing is believing The West Australian Aug 14 02
@: Pell accused of molesting. ABC radio news, www.abc.net.au/news/2002/08/ item20020820180852_1.htm Aug 20 02
#: "Pell in sex cover-up claim: Sydney archbishop implicated in new child abuse allegations;" Dr Pell denied telling authorities that a suspected abuser priest had died The West Australian Fri Aug 23 02
BOOKS include Religious life without integrity Dr Barry Coldrey 2001 82pp $17.95 P & B Press P.O. Box 81 Como 6952 Tel 08 9450 2513 pbpress@iinet.net.au http://members.iinet.net.au/~pbpress
Perpetrators List: of campaigner Clare Henderson www.pip.com.au/~chenderson/perplist.htm
Broken Rites Australian support group for abused people http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au
Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse (A.S.C.A. ), Australia: www.asca.org.au Tel 1300 657 380
Prof. Patrick Parkinson, child legal expert www.law.usyd.edu.au/staff/p_parkinson_pub.htm
The Linkup, Survivors of Clergy Abuse, North America www.thelinkup.com
Call to Action (U.S.A.) to clean up the Catholic Church: www.cta-usa.org/responses/sexabuse_resources.html

Church monks step back from zero tolerance plan