Sex abuse Bethlehem at peace
Bishops will hear, p ray with victims in Dallas
By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. bishops ' meeting in Dallas next month "will include direct participation by some who have been directly harmed by a cleric, " Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops , said May 10. The Belleville , 111., bishop — who will preside at the June 13-15 meeting — said the agenda being planned by the bishops ' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse will provide for "representatives from those who have been harmed to speak to us, to pray with us. " A national day of reconciliation in the U.S. church will need to involve much more than "say three Hail Marys and go and sin no more. This moment is too profound for that kind of glib response, " Bishop Gregoiy said at an open meeting with USCCB staff in Washington.
Parishes in archdiocese respond to scandal PAGE 5
Franciscan f riarsbid f arewellto Palestinians who had occupied the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Palestinian Catholics clean up the debris f roma f i r ein the parish hall at the church. More on the end of the siege in Bethlehem: Pages 11, 15 (CNS PHOTO BY DEBBIE HILL)
"First the bishops have to ask forgiveness of those who have been harmed, " he said. Bishop Gregory invited all the USCCB staff to the unusual half-hour session in the main hallway of the conference building. After brief opening remarks he spent most of the time fielding questi ons. "We are in an unprecedented moment, " he said. "It i; unprecedented because of its sorrow. ... Not all of us bishops have handled the situation as Bishop Wilton D. Gregory well as we should have. " Despite the extent of the crisis, he said, "I have not lost faith in the church. I am not overcome by sorrow. I am perp lexed. ... I am ashamed. But I am not overwhelmed with despair." When he was asked what can be expected from the June meeting, he said, "The absolutely essenti al dimension of Dallas must be that the bishops must make absolutely clear th at children will never be placed in harm 's way. That is the sine qua non. " "I want to make sure I don 't inflate " expectations of ' what the bishops can do in Dallas, he added. Elaborating, he said, "Peop le who harm children are sick. ... It 's a crime and it 's sinful— We can't stop sin — but we can make sure we will never intentionally place children in harm 's way." He added, "I don 't want to place a burden on Dallas more than it can bear. The media have already made Dallasmore important than Pentecost'." SEX ABUSE, page 9
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