VATICAN CITY—Citing concerns over the unintended consequences of the U.S. bishops' sex-abuse policy, the Holy See has refused to approve their proposed norms for priests who sexually abuse minors.

Speaking at a news conference in Rome on Oct. 18, Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stressed that the norms were not rejected outright but rather were in need of “further reflection and revision,” according to the official Vatican response.

That policy, overwhelmingly approved at the Dallas meeting of the bishops in June, required Vatican approval in order to become binding on all U.S. bishops. Senior U.S. bishops had predicted the Vatican would approve it. (Cardinal Francis George gives his opinion in the Inperson interview on this page.)

The Dallas policy now has to be examined and revised by a mixed commission made up of four American bishops appointed by Bishop Gregory and four bishops from the relevant Vatican departments.

“The mixed commission is a welcome step,” George Weigel told the Register. “After it finishes its work, it will be time to move quickly to the more fundamental reform of seminaries, the priesthood and the episcopate.”

The Holy See's response came in a two-page letter from Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. The letter praised the U.S. bishops' “firm condemnation of sexual misdeeds against minors.” Nonetheless, it said, the Dallas policy could “be the source of confusion and ambiguity ... because [it contains] provisions which in some aspects are difficult to reconcile with the universal law of the Church.”

Furthermore, Cardinal Re noted that since Dallas, more than a few cases have shown that “the terminology of these documents is at times vague or imprecise and therefore difficult to interpret.”

The Register has reported on several such cases, most recently that of Msgr. Michael Smith Foster, who has been on administrative leave from the Archdiocese of Boston for more than a month. The archdiocese suspended him because of sexual-abuse allegations so evidently baseless that the civil courts have dismissed them—with prejudice, meaning they can't be filed again—and the Boston Globehas run detailed exposés portraying the priest's accuser as a pathological liar.

Wrote Cardinal Re, “[I]t has been judged appropriate that before the recognitio [Holy See approval] can be granted, a further reflection on and revision of the [Dallas policy is] necessary.”

Cardinal Re's Congregation for Bishops handles matters arising from bishops' conferences, but the Vatican response was formulated after consultation with the dicasteries (Vatican offices) responsible for doctrine, clergy, seminary formation and canon law.

Due Process

Cardinal Re's letter did not mention specific objections, but Vatican officials who spoke to the Register said a lack of “due process” for accused priests was a chief concern.

“When the Church defends the human rights of all, she must also defend the human rights of her fallen priests,” said Cardinal Dario CastrillÛn Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, at another Oct. 18 press conference on a separate topic.

Bishop Gregory himself indicated three problem areas: the definition of “sexual abuse,” the role of diocesan review boards and the conformity of the proposed disciplinary procedures with the requirements of canon law.

Bishop Gregory stressed that the Vatican decision should not be seen as a rejection of the U.S. norms, nor should the situation be seen as a “conflict” between the U.S. bishops and the Vatican.

“Officials of the Roman Curia have shown great pastoral care in their sensitivity to the pain caused to victims, their commitment to the need to protect society from perpetrators of abuse, their regard for the respect that needs to be shown the rights of the accused and their pain at the anguish caused to faithful Catholics by this sinful and criminal conduct,” Bishop Gregory said. “We are grateful beyond words to the Holy Father for strengthening his brothers in this time of trial.”

Answering questions from reporters at the Rome press conference Oct. 18, Bishop Gregory repeated several times that the work of the mixed commission should be complete in time for the November meeting of the U.S. bishops. When one reporter commented that such a quick resolution would be a “miracle,” he responded, “You are talking to a man who believes in miracles.”

In private comments to the Register, Vatican officials noted the November deadline was not mentioned by Cardinal Re or any other Vatican source.

Bishop Gregory said the accelerated timeline indicated that the Dallas policy was “fairly well-done” and only in need of “fine-tuning.” He stressed that “no matters were completely unacceptable” to the Vatican and “nothing has been ruled out” of the Dallas policy. Vatican officials were not quite so optimistic, indicating that changes would be necessary in such major areas as the definition of sexual abuse and the power of review boards.

Immediate consequences were unclear. In response to questions about the status of the Dallas policy, Bishop Gregory said that bishops should continue implementing it.

“The bishops who have begun to implement the [Dallas policy]—will they stop? No,” he said. “I don't believe a bishop should halt [use of the norms].”

Father Raymond J. de Souza writes from Rome.