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LUCKY SEVERSON, guest anchor: Eighteen months after the Catholic sex abuse crisis first made headlines, Church leaders and members alike admit much healing still needs to take place. That was certainly evident last week, as the U.S. Catholic Bishops gathered for their semi-annual meeting. The bishops said they're on track with reforms to address the crisis. But as Kim Lawton reports, many Catholics are still deeply concerned.
KIM LAWTON: The nation's nearly 300 bishops ended last week's meeting with a progress report on their new sex abuse policy, adopted a year ago. Minneapolis Archbishop Harry Flynn, head of the Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse, said the efforts are now at "full throttle."
Archbishop HARRY FLYNN (Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse): Our commitment has not wavered. We have made a pledge to our people and to the people of this nation, and especially to the vulnerable ones, and we will keep that pledge.
LAWTON: But he also added a note of caution.
Archbishop FLYNN: We do not take too much comfort in that. There is still a long road ahead of us.
LAWTON: Many lay groups fear that road may be very long indeed. Victims' groups and lay reformers are pressuring the bishops to move faster and to be more open about what they are doing.
JIM POST (President, Voice of the Faithful): We really are looking for results. We are looking to make sure that the dioceses do clean up their act; that the charter and norms that the bishops adopted, that those will be implemented vigorously; the child protection program will be put in place; and that the laity will be brought into the governance and guidance of the Church.
LAWTON: Last week's meeting was dogged by continuing protests and more questions about the depth of the bishops' commitment. At the grassroots, there is still a lot skepticism about the new policy, particularly among abuse survivors and their advocates.
Rev. THOMAS DOYLE (Sex Abuse Victims' Advocate): I think the main challenge is in implementing it, is its believability. They keep saying how wonderful this is, and this is the answer to all of this. But there's no credibility among the survivor groups, and those are the most important [constituency].
KIM LAWTON: The nation's nearly 300 bishops ended last week's meeting with a progress report on their new sex abuse policy, adopted a year ago. Minneapolis Archbishop Harry Flynn, head of the Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse, said the efforts are now at "full throttle."
Archbishop HARRY FLYNN (Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse): Our commitment has not wavered. We have made a pledge to our people and to the people of this nation, and especially to the vulnerable ones, and we will keep that pledge.LAWTON: But he also added a note of caution.
Archbishop FLYNN: We do not take too much comfort in that. There is still a long road ahead of us.
LAWTON: Many lay groups fear that road may be very long indeed. Victims' groups and lay reformers are pressuring the bishops to move faster and to be more open about what they are doing.
JIM POST (President, Voice of the Faithful): We really are looking for results. We are looking to make sure that the dioceses do clean up their act; that the charter and norms that the bishops adopted, that those will be implemented vigorously; the child protection program will be put in place; and that the laity will be brought into the governance and guidance of the Church.LAWTON: Last week's meeting was dogged by continuing protests and more questions about the depth of the bishops' commitment. At the grassroots, there is still a lot skepticism about the new policy, particularly among abuse survivors and their advocates.
Rev. THOMAS DOYLE (Sex Abuse Victims' Advocate): I think the main challenge is in implementing it, is its believability. They keep saying how wonderful this is, and this is the answer to all of this. But there's no credibility among the survivor groups, and those are the most important [constituency].
They can ask for accountability. They can demand that when the priest speaks from the pulpit, that he not mumbo-jumbo them to death, that he talk straight and say something relevant.
Archbishop FLYNN: This is going to take its own time, but we're well on the way, and I have great confidence in the providence of God. That providence has seen the Church through for over 2,000 years, and my confidence in the providence of God assures me that God will see us through this too.
