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American Morning

Interview with Bishop Wilton Gregory

Aired June 17, 2002 - 08:08   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Over the weekend, in fact, on Friday, U.S. Catholics had their first chance to react to the new policy on sex abuse by Catholic priests. The new guidelines came out of the conference of U.S. bishops that wrapped up on Friday in Dallas. Those guidelines say abusers will no longer wear their clerical collars, but many say the rules stop short of the zero tolerance policy that many had demanded, and those guidelines still have to be approved by the pope in Vatican City.

Let's talk more about what came out of Dallas on the guidelines, and whether or not they will be met in the near future. The president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Bishop Wilton Gregory is our guest this morning. Good to see you, good morning to you.

BISHOP WILTON GREGORY, PRESIDENT, USCCB: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: What if the Vatican and the pope comes to you and says, this does not fly, it won't work?

GREGORY: Well, obviously, we will have to be in an ongoing conversation with the Holy See, but, Bill, that dialogue has been going on for months now, and I'm not saying that we won't have to answer specific questions and concerns, but the one thing that Pope John Paul II told us was that the doors of the house of the successor of Peter was open for the bishops, that he wants to help us.

HEMMER: If the conversations had been ongoing for months, is this essentially a rubber stamp? Because some have suggested that the Catholic Church already knew what the Vatican would go along with in the first place.

GREGORY: No, Bill, I would never say it was a rubber stamp. Obviously, because the document that we finally approved had modifications that came from the conversations with the bishops. So, we're taking over a document that we're confident will be approved, but we will probably have to wait and see what recommendations they make.

HEMMER: John Allen is a well known journalist in this country writing about the church. He writes for the "National Catholic Reporter." He talked about one of the dangers he sees regarding the new policy. His comments first, then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN ALLEN, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER": The definition of sexual abuse in this document is too broadly construed that it could bring in all sorts of offenses that maybe don't justify being kicked out of the priesthood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Have you made the guidelines too tight and too strict, where priests who are not guilty of what was set out in Dallas may be kicked out of the priesthood?

GREGORY: We don't believe so. One of the things that the document reflects is the flexibility of various civil jurisdictions. In other words, the church in the United States exists in the 50 states. Each of those states has its own legal definition of sexual abuse, and the church must live and abide by those particular definitions. So there has to be some flexibility.

HEMMER: Now we go to implementation. Bishop William Lori says the key point is not what happened in Dallas, but what happens now going forward. Here's Bishop Lori and his comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP WILLIAM LORI, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT: The important thing is not simply the passing of a charter, the important thing is what happens when you go home. And one of the things I will certainly do is look at all the things that are being done in my diocese, and measure those things against the charter. I believe all the bishops are going home with that resolve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: What assurance can you offer Catholic viewers watching this interview right now that the promise will be fulfilled?

GREGORY: Well, first of all, the extraordinary public attention to this issue already guarantees that it will not be able to be simply ignored. But the charter itself establishes certain norms for oversight and for accountability. We have a national -- or will have a national review board. There will be an office. There's an annual audit. Dioceses that are not in compliance with the requirements of the charter will be cited. I mean, the charter itself provides an extraordinary amount of transparency, so that if a bishop chose not to follow that, it would be publicly known. And he would -- he would be then faced with the public censure.

HEMMER: Is there a danger in that to go so public, when there are only allegations, and there are no -- convictions, let's say?

GREGORY: Certainly, we are in a new moment. But, Bill, the church was soundly criticized for doing exactly the opposite, for not making issues public, and not allowing people to know what was really taking place. So, we are trying to respond to that challenge and that criticism. HEMMER: If you canvas the country and took the pulse of the Catholic faithful, coming out of Vatican City, the bishops meeting there back in April, there was huge disappointment, that I sensed, anyway, from a lot of people who wanted to hear more from the American bishops back then. What have you gauged since breaking the meeting in Dallas?

GREGORY: I think what I've heard is that people are taking a wait and see approach, that Catholics really want to believe that we have turned the corner. But it clearly is a first step. Bishop Lori is absolutely correct, that the success of Dallas will not be fully determined until these policies are implemented, and local dioceses begin to move forward with a greater sense of confidence.

HEMMER: Quickly here, bishop, before we let you go. I know you say it's a first step, and I know you say it's a gradual process that will continue to build once it's implemented. Are you surprised, frankly, at how quickly the church moved on this?

GREGORY: No, I'm not. And, Bill, there are many people who say the church didn't move quickly enough.

HEMMER: Some say it should have been 20 years ago.

GREGORY: Certainly. But it's an indication on the part of the bishops of this country that we want to make sure that our people know that children are safe in the Catholic Church.

HEMMER: Thank you, bishop. Best of luck to you.

GREGORY: Thank you.

HEMMER: Bishop Gregory, here in New York City.

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