Bishops vote to investigate sexual abuse

Nearly 300 bishops from around the country are tackling an array of issues
affecting the Catholic Church during the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops meeting at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront Hotel.

Jessica Novak,
The Examiner
November 14, 2006

BALTIMORE - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted
unanimously Monday to support research into what leads some priests to
abuse children.


Bishops from around the country have convened in Baltimore to tackle the
issues facing the modern Catholic Church, and voted Monday to give
$335,000 to research that would explore the causes and context of sexual
abuse by the clergy.

Divided into three components, the study will review the historical
context of sexual abuse, individual diocese’s responses to notorious cases
of abuse after 1985, and the differences between priests accused of sexual
abuse and sex offenders who are not priests.

According to the accepted proposal, researchers will explore whether cases
of abuse involving priests are similar to abuse by laypersons, and if
there are factors specific to the ministry that may influence some priests
to sexually abuse children.

“By approving the proposal, bishops are saying we are serious about this;
we haven’t retreated from our original position and we’ll stay on this
until we can find the causes that will prevent these terrible things from
happening,” said Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, of Washington.

In order to provide context on the hot-button issue, researchers will
collect and analyze data related to changes in cultural attitudes and
institutions, including the Catholic Church, said Karen Terry, lead
investigator.

Research will be conducted by John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a
division of the City University of New York. Priests and other
participants will be interviewed on a voluntary basis. “Given that the
vote in favor of the proposal was unanimous, I expect each diocese to
fully participate in the research, and the information will not be skewed
since it will be kept confidential,” said the Rev. Ragan Schriver of
Tennessee, one of the required regional observers at the conference.

John Jay College will raise funds for the study, estimated to cost $2
million to $3 million and be completed by 2009.

The nearly 300 bishops at the conference will continue to debate and vote
on issues affecting the Catholic Church until Thursday. Topics up for vote
today include guidelines on preparing to receive Eucharist and ministering
to gay men and lesbians.

Nov. 14th  was the last day open to the public.