Ahead of the conference, the bishops coalesced around two proposals to impose accountability. The first is a simple code of conduct extending to bishops the zero-tolerance policy for sex abuse enacted for priests in 2002. The second is an independent review board to investigate claims against bishops and refer credible cases directly to the Vatican. \u201cEach bishop would have to agree to allow himself to be investigated by the committee,\u201d San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone told me last week. He described the bishops\u2019 shedding of immunity as \u201ca covenantal sort of relationship\u201d that would allow them to police each other better.<\/p>\n
Yet the Vatican\u2019s surprise announcement means the new covenant will have to wait. The Holy See barred the conference from voting on new sex-abuse protocols until after a summit in Rome this February. Naturally, the bishops were shocked when they received the news Monday morning. Instead of returning to their dioceses with a concrete agreement, they\u2019ll bring nothing but assurances of future reforms. More than 15 years after the sex-abuse crisis first surfaced in the U.S., such promises do little to quell public anger or ease prosecutorial pressure.<\/p>\n
The delay shows that the Vatican simply doesn\u2019t place the same value on speed and openness with the public that the U.S. episcopate does. American bishops are closer to the schools and parishes where abuse actually takes place. When one leader fails to respond appropriately to abuse, they all take on the stench of corruption. And unlike the pope, local bishops generally are seen as dispensable by their followers\u2014shepherds to be discarded if they fail to protect the flock.<\/p>\n
Despite the imprudent delay, U.S. bishops can continue cleaning their own pastures ahead of the Rome summit. <\/p>\n