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Pope Makes Strong Remarks on Priest Sex Scandal

Aired April 23, 2002 - 13:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II made his strongest remarks yet on the priest sex scandal in his meeting today with American cardinals. CNN's Jonathan Mann has the details from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An ancient prayer of gathering to begin an unprecedented session. The pope had never specifically called the cardinals of the United States to the Vatican. Now he's 81 and ailing, and aides say that some of the pain he feels comes from this crisis.

"Because of the harm done by some priest and religious, the church herself is viewed with distrust," he said. "The abuse which has caused this crisis is by every standard wrong and rightfully considered a crime by society. It is an appalling sin in the eyes of God."

The pope's statement did not specifically tell the cardinals what to do. The discussions had only begun and are expected to last long after the two-day Vatican session is over. But there are questions the cardinals are asking themselves. Should, for example, the church impose one strike and you're out, a zero-tolerance policy to defrock priests after a single credible accusation of any kind of sexual abuse rather than trying to help some priests reform or find them a home elsewhere in the church?

But the pope's statement also spoke of conversion, the idea that errant priests can be helped, treated, forgiven. So where does the pope stand?

UNIDENTIFIED PRIEST: I'm not sure where the discourse leaves us on that question of zero tolerance. I am more sure that there's still not a total consensus even among the members of the hierarchy who are here in Rome at the present time.

MANN: But at the cardinals' news conference after the meeting, a topic that the pope did not address but that has clearly been on the minds of many Catholics, especially now: homosexuals in the priesthood. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was unusually frank.

BISHOP WILTON GREGORY, U.S. CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS: It is an ongoing struggle. It is most importantly a struggle to make sure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men. Not only is it not dominated by homosexual men, but that the candidates that we receive are healthy in every possible way.

MANN: The church demands that homosexual priests, like all who wear the collar, remain celibate. Does the church need to do more?

(on camera): Homosexuality is not considered the issue in this current crisis. Heterosexuals abuse children too. But as the church begins looking into the sexual behavior of some of its priests, the predators, it may start a debate about other sexual behavior as well. Both liberals and conservatives in the church are eager to make their voices heard if there are going to be new decisions about sex and the priesthood.

Jonathan Mann, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we have this bit of information now just in to CNN. This is actually coming from the Associated Press. We are told that Cardinal Bernard Law has apologized to his fellow U.S. cardinals. Now you remember that Cardinal Bernard Law had not been talking. Reporters had tried to get in touch with him. He was staying away from the media, not coming out and making a statement.

He had been under pressure over the handling of a number of sex abuse cases in the Boston archdiocese. He announced last week he would not resign, even under all the pressure to resign. And now we're told that Cardinal Bernard Law has apologized to his fellow U.S. cardinals, saying that, quote, "if he hadn't made some terrible mistakes, they probably wouldn't be at the Vatican this week."

Interesting statement. We are going to bring our John Allen -- or John Allen in, rather. He's the Vatican correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter." He joins us now from Rome.

I'm curious, John, what you think to this apology from Cardinal Bernard Law. Does this surprise you?

JOHN ALLEN, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER": No, it doesn't. We actually heard about this this morning during the press briefing when Bishop Wilton Gregory, that's the president of the U.S. Bishops Conference and Cardinal Francis George of Chicago met with reporters briefly. And they were of course asked what contributions Bernard Law had to make.

And I think it was Cardinal George who recounted what you've just described to us as his apology. I think frankly this was needed to clear the air. You may know that yesterday, the "Los Angeles Times" moved a story indicating that there were a group of American cardinals who were planning to come in and ask the pope for Cardinal Law's resignation. And, although, I don't think the fate of Cardinal Law is going to figure in the agenda of this meeting, I think this was necessary to clear the air.

PHILLIPS: Moving on to comments by the pope. Zero-tolerance policy: what do you think?

ALLEN: Well, I think what's quite clear is that this a point that divides people inside of that. Again, it also divides the Vatican from the American Bishops Conference. This too was discussed at the press briefing today. And Cardinal George in what I think I have to say was an unusually open and candid fashion, described for us some of the internal tension, the internal debate in this meeting.

There are some who believe that anytime a priest abuses someone sexually, that ought to mean the end. That ought to mean the end of his career as a priest. There are others who would say that while he obviously ought to be taken out of a position where he can never abuse anyone again, that there might be other ministerial possibilities, other things this guy could do as a priest. That is one of the hot- button issues that is continuing to create conflict inside the meeting.

PHILLIPS: What would a policy banning homosexuality do to the priesthood around the world, do you think?

ALLEN: Well, you know, I think initially, it would be very difficult to enforce. You know, I mean, I think we've had some experience with this in other big social institutions, whether it's the military or going back a number of years, you know, corporate life.

I think experience teaches us that these things become very messy, very difficult to make stick. And it is also true that inside the Catholic priesthood, at least in North America, we have at the moment a disproportionate number of homosexuals. And that too was acknowledged, I think, in an unusually public way today by Bishop Wilton Gregory, the president of the U.S. Bishops Conference.

And so, I think it could well -- I think it would have impact on two levels. One is I think it would be deeply demoralizing for those homosexual priests who are already in the ranks. I think it would also be divisive in the larger Catholic community. I think conservatives would applaud it. Liberals would decry it. And I think one of the things that bishops right now are seeking not to do is be divisive. We already have a badly divided church.

PHILLIPS: Now, there's lots -- there have been crafted letters. There has been talk of formal apologies. Now cardinals are coming out and speaking with reporters. But do you think the real test would be how they treat the victims versus all this formality?

ALLEN: Well, I think all of this is critical. I certainly think how they respond to victims, the kind of compassion they show, both publicly and privately, is a critical test of how serious they are about resolving this problem.

But, you know, Kyra, I also think what's going on in the American Catholic church at the moment is that this is shifting from being exclusively a sex abuse story and it's becoming an accountability story. That is the questions Catholics are asking have to do not just with how do you deal with abuser priests, but how do you hold your -- the leaders of this church accountable? And is it enough for bishops to be accountable just to Rome, or do they also somehow have to be accountable to the local communities they serve? And if they do, how do you involve those local communities, those lay Catholics, in making decisions in areas like governance and finance and personnel. I think we're hearing some open talk about those sort of themes here as well. And I'm quite convinced that that argument is only going to grow in the American Catholic church.

PHILLIPS: You say American Catholic church. It's been talked so much about an American problem. But internationally, you have situations, Ireland, Germany, France. Is this going to be addressed as an international problem as well?

ALLEN: Well, I think it's quite clear that at the moment, it's the American Catholic church that is in a deep crisis. I mean, you're quite right. In recent months, we have seen a Polish archbishop resign under accusations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. We've seen a French bishop suspended to a three-month jail sentence. An English bishop has resigned, an Irish bishop and English archbishop This clearly is a global problem.

On the other hand, it is in the United States, where this has taken a sort of uniquely sharp form in recent months, given the scope and the scale of the revelations that have crested through this church. And so, I think the Vatican and the American bishops recognize that this is where the work has to start. And more to the point, whatever work is done here is going to be widely imitated around the rest of the world. By here, I mean in the United States.

And so, I think that's why the Vatican has taken a special interest in how the American bishops are going to resolve this. Again, bearing in mind, the subtext to today's meeting and tomorrow's meeting is that the American bishops are going to gather in Dallas in June. That's when they are going to adopt their new policies. And the Vatican clearly understands those policies are going to be looked at around the world. They want to make sure that we're all on the same page.

PHILLIPS: John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter." Thanks so much, John.

ALLEN: Kyra, my pleasure.

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