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Essential
Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies
Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors
by Priests or Deacons
Approved by the
Congregation for Bishops, December 8, 2002
Preamble
On June 14, 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
approved a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The
charter addresses the Church's commitment to deal appropriately and
effectively with cases of sexual abuse of minors by priests, deacons,
and other church personnel (i.e., employees and volunteers). The bishops
of the United States have promised to reach out to those who have been
sexually abused as minors by anyone serving the Church in ministry,
employment, or a volunteer position, whether the sexual abuse was recent
or occurred many years ago. They stated that they would be as open as
possible with the people in parishes and communities about instances of
sexual abuse of minors, with respect always for the privacy and the
reputation of the individuals involved. They have committed themselves
to the pastoral and spiritual care and emotional well-being of those who
have been sexually abused and of their families.
In addition, the bishops will work with parents, civil authorities,
educators, and various organizations in the community to make and
maintain the safest environment for minors. In the same way, the bishops
have pledged to evaluate the background of seminary applicants as well
as all church personnel who have responsibility for the care and
supervision of children and young people.
Therefore, to ensure that each diocese/eparchy in the United States of
America will have procedures in place to respond promptly to all
allegations of sexual abuse of minors, the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops decrees these norms for diocesan/eparchial policies
dealing with allegations of sexual abuse of minors by diocesan and
religious priests or deacons.1 These norms are complementary to the
universal law of the Church, which has traditionally considered the
sexual abuse of minors a grave delict and punishes the offender with
penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state if the case
so warrants.
Sexual abuse of a minor includes sexual molestation or sexual
exploitation of a minor and other behavior by which an adult uses a
minor as an object of sexual gratification. Sexual abuse has been
defined by different civil authorities in various ways, and these norms
do not adopt any particular definition provided in civil law. Rather,
the transgressions in question relate to obligations arising from divine
commands regarding human sexual interaction as conveyed to us by the
sixth commandment of the Decalogue. Thus, the norm to be considered in
assessing an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is whether conduct or
interaction with a minor qualifies as an external, objectively grave
violation of the sixth commandment (USCCB, Canonical Delicts Involving
Sexual Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State, 1995, p. 6). A
canonical offence against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (CIC,
c. 1395 §2; CCEO, c. 1453 §1) need not be a complete act of
intercourse. Nor, to be objectively grave, does an act need to involve
force, physical contact, or a discernible harmful outcome. Moreover,
"imputability [moral responsibility] for a canonical offense is
presumed upon external violation…unless it is otherwise apparent"
(CIC, c. 1321 §3; CCEO, c. 1414 §2). Cf. CIC, canons 1322-27, and CCEO,
canons 1413, 1415, and 1416.2
Norms
1. Having received the recognitio of the Apostolic See on December 8,
2002, and having been legitimately promulgated in accordance with the
practice of this Episcopal Conference on December 12, 2002, these Norms
constitute particular law for all the dioceses/eparchies of the United
States of America.3 Two years after recognitio has been received, these
norms will be evaluated by the plenary assembly of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
2. Each diocese/eparchy will have a written policy on the sexual abuse
of minors by priests and deacons, as well as by other church personnel.
This policy is to comply fully with, and is to specify in more detail,
the steps to be taken in implementing the requirements of canon law,
particularly CIC, canons 1717-1719, and CCEO, canons 1468-1470. A copy
of this policy will be filed with the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops within three months of the effective date of these
norms. Copies of any eventual revisions of the written
diocesan/eparchial policy are also to be filed with the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops within three months of such
modifications.
3. Each diocese/eparchy will designate a competent person to coordinate
assistance for the immediate pastoral care of persons who claim to have
been sexually abused when they were minors by priests or deacons.
4. To assist diocesan/eparchial bishops, each diocese/eparchy will also
have a review board which will function as a confidential consultative
body to the bishop/eparch in discharging his responsibilities. The
functions of this board may include
A. advising the diocesan bishop/eparch in his assessment of allegations
of sexual abuse of minors and in his determination of suitability for
ministry;
B. reviewing diocesan/eparchial policies for dealing with sexual abuse
of minors; and
C. offering advice on all aspects of these cases, whether
retrospectively or prospectively.
5. The review board, established by the diocesan/eparchial bishop, will
be composed of at least five persons of outstanding integrity and good
judgment in full communion with the Church. The majority of the review
board members will be lay persons who are not in the employ of the
diocese/eparchy; but at least one member should be a priest who is an
experienced and respected pastor of the diocese/eparchy in question, and
at least one member should have particular expertise in the treatment of
the sexual abuse of minors. The members will be appointed for a term of
five years, which can be renewed. It is desirable that the Promoter of
Justice participate in the meetings of the review board.
6. When an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest or deacon
is received, a preliminary investigation in harmony with canon law will
be initiated and conducted promptly and objectively (CIC, c. 1717; CCEO,
c. 1468). All appropriate steps shall be taken to protect the reputation
of the accused during the investigation. The accused will be encouraged
to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel and will be
promptly notified of the results of the investigation. When there is
sufficient evidence that sexual abuse of a minor has occurred, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith shall be notified. The
bishop/eparch shall then apply the precautionary measures mentioned in
CIC, canon 1722, or CCEO, canon 1473-i.e., remove the accused from the
sacred ministry or from any ecclesiastical office or function, impose or
prohibit residence in a given place or territory, and prohibit public
participation in the Most Holy Eucharist pending the outcome of the
process.
7. The alleged offender may be requested to seek, and may be urged
voluntarily to comply with, an appropriate medical and psychological
evaluation at a facility mutually acceptable to the diocese/eparchy and
to the accused.
8. When even a single act of sexual abuse by a priest or deacon is
admitted or is established after an appropriate process in accord with
canon law, the offending priest or deacon will be removed permanently
from ecclesiastical ministry, not excluding dismissal from the clerical
state, if the case so warrants (CIC, c. 1395 §2; CCEO, c. 1453 §1).4
A. In every case involving canonical penalties, the processes provided
for in canon law must be observed, and the various provisions of canon
law must be considered (cf. Canonical Delicts Involving Sexual
Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State, 1995; Letter from the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 18, 2001). Unless the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having been notified, calls
the case to itself because of special circumstances, it will direct the
diocesan bishop/eparch how to proceed (Article 13, "Procedural
Norms" for Motu proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, AAS, 93,
2001, p. 787). If the case would otherwise be barred by prescription,
because sexual abuse of a minor is a grave offense, the bishop/eparch
shall apply to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for a
dispensation from the prescription, while indicating appropriate
pastoral reasons. For the sake of due process, the accused is to be
encouraged to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel. When
necessary, the diocese/eparchy will supply canonical counsel to a
priest. The provisions of CIC, canon 1722, or CCEO, canon 1473, shall be
implemented during the pendency of the penal process.
B. If the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state has not been
applied (e.g., for reasons of advanced age or infirmity), the offender
ought to lead a life of prayer and penance. He will not be permitted to
celebrate Mass publicly or to administer the sacraments. He is to be
instructed not to wear clerical garb, or to present himself publicly as
a priest.
9. At all times, the diocesan bishop/eparch has the executive power of
governance, through an administrative act, to remove an offending cleric
from office, to remove or restrict his faculties, and to limit his
exercise of priestly ministry.5 Because sexual abuse of a minor by a
cleric is a crime in the universal law of the Church (CIC, c. 1395 §2;
CCEO, c. 1453 §1) and is a crime in all jurisdictions in the United
States, for the sake of the common good and observing the provisions of
canon law, the diocesan bishop/eparch shall exercise this power of
governance to ensure that any priest who has committed even one act of
sexual abuse of a minor as described above shall not continue in active
ministry.6
10. The priest or deacon may at any time request a dispensation from the
obligations of the clerical state. In exceptional cases, the
bishop/eparch may request of the Holy Father the dismissal of the priest
or deacon from the clerical state ex officio, even without the consent
of the priest or deacon.
11. The diocese/eparchy will comply with all applicable civil laws with
respect to the reporting of allegations of sexual abuse of minors to
civil authorities and will cooperate in their investigation. In every
instance, the diocese/eparchy will advise and support a person's right
to make a report to public authorities.7
12. No priest or deacon who has committed an act of sexual abuse of a
minor may be transferred for ministerial assignment to another
diocese/eparchy or religious province. Before a priest or deacon can be
transferred for residence to another diocese/eparchy or religious
province, his bishop/eparch or religious ordinary shall forward, in a
confidential manner, to the local bishop/eparch and religious ordinary
(if applicable) of the proposed place of residence any and all
information concerning any act of sexual abuse of a minor and any other
information indicating that he has been or may be a danger to children
or young people. This shall apply even if the priest or deacon will
reside in the local community of an institute of consecrated life or
society of apostolic life (or, in the Eastern Churches, as a monk or
other religious, in a society of common life according to the manner of
religious, in a secular institute, or in another form of consecrated
life or society of apostolic life). Every bishop/eparch or religious
ordinary who receives a priest or deacon from outside his jurisdiction
will obtain the necessary information regarding any past act of sexual
abuse of a minor by the priest or deacon in question.
13. Care will always be taken to protect the rights of all parties
involved, particularly those of the person claiming to have been
sexually abused and of the person against whom the charge has been made.
When an accusation has proved to be unfounded, every step possible will
be taken to restore the good name of the person falsely accused.
1 In applying these Norms to religious priests and deacons, the
term "religious ordinary" shall be substituted for the term
"bishop/eparch" mutatis mutandis.
2 If there is any doubt whether a specific act qualifies as an
external, objectively grave violation, the writings of recognized moral
theologians should be consulted, and the opinions of recognized experts
should be appropriately obtained (Canonical Delicts, p. 6). Ultimately,
it is the responsibility of the diocesan bishop/eparch, with the advice
of a qualified review board, to determine the gravity of the alleged
act.
3 Due regard must be given to the proper legislative authority of
each Eastern Catholic Church.
4 Removal from ministry is required whether or not the cleric is
diagnosed by qualified experts as a pedophile or as suffering from a
related sexual disorder that requires professional treatment.
5 Cf. CIC, cc. 35-58, 149, 157, 187-189, 192-195, 277 §3, 381 §1,
383, 391, 1348, and 1740-1747. Cf. also CCEO, cc. 1510 §1 and 2, 1° -2°
, 1511, 1512 §§1-2, 1513 §§2-3 and 5, 1514-1516, 1517 §1, 1518,
1519 §2, 1520 §§1-3, 1521, 1522 §1, 1523-1526, 940, 946, 967-971,
974-977, 374, 178, 192 §§1-3, 193 §2, 191, 1389-1396.
6 The diocesan bishop/eparch may exercise his executive power of
governance to take one or more of the following administrative actions (CIC,
cc. 381, 129ff; CCEO, cc. 178, 979ff):
a. He may request that the accused freely resign from any currently held
ecclesiastical office (CIC, cc. 187?189; CCEO, cc. 967-971).
b. Should the accused decline to resign and should the diocesan
bishop/eparch judge the accused to be truly not suitable (CIC, c. 149 §1;
CCEO, c. 940) at this time for holding an office previously freely
conferred (CIC, c. 157), then he may remove that person from office
observing the required canonical procedures (CIC, cc. 192-195,
1740-1747; CCEO, cc. 974-977, 1389-1396).
c. For a cleric who holds no office in the diocese/eparchy, any
previously delegated faculties may be administratively removed (CIC, cc.
391 §1 and 142 §1; CCEO, cc. 191 §1 and 992 §1), while any de iure
faculties may be removed or restricted by the competent authority as
provided in law (e.g., CIC, c. 764; CCEO, c. 610 §§2-3).
d. The diocesan bishop/eparch may also determine that circumstances
surrounding a particular case constitute the just and reasonable cause
for a priest to celebrate the Eucharist with no member of the faithful
present (CIC, c. 906). The bishop may forbid the priest to celebrate the
Eucharist publicly and to administer the sacraments, for the good of the
Church and for his own good.
e. Depending on the gravity of the case, the diocesan bishop/eparch may
also dispense (CIC, cc. 85-88; CCEO, cc. 1536 §1-1538) the cleric from
the obligation of wearing clerical attire (CIC, c. 284; CCEO, c. 387)
and may urge that he not do so, for the good of the Church and for his
own good.
These administrative actions shall be taken in writing and by means of
decrees (CIC, cc. 47?58; CCEO, cc. 1510 §2, 1°-2°, 1511, 1513 §§2-3
and 5, 1514, 1517 §1, 1518, 1519 §2, 1520) so that the cleric affected
is afforded the opportunity of recourse against them in accord with
canon law (CIC, cc. 1734ff; CCEO, cc. 999ff).
7 The necessary observance of the canonical norms internal to the
Church is not intended in any way to hinder the course of any civil
action that may be operative. At the same time, the Church reaffirms her
right to enact legislation binding on all her members concerning the
ecclesiastical dimensions of the delict of sexual abuse of minors.
December 16, 2002 Copyright © by United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops |
