US Catholics amend sex abuse stance

It is the worst crisis in the US Church's history

US Roman Catholic bishops have approved changes to their policy on child sex abuse by priests - but critics say they do not go far enough.

Under the new rules, priests are to be removed from the ministry if they are found guilty of "even one act of sexual abuse of a minor".

The gulf between bishops and the victims and lay people in the church has grown wider by the vote today

Barbara Blaine
Head of victims' support network

But a commitment to reporting all allegations of sex abuse to the police is dropped.

The revised rules allow any priest accused of paedophile abuse to continue working while a preliminary investigation establishes if there is any evidence to support the allegation.

If a molestation claim is deemed plausible, the priest will be put on leave and go before a clerical tribunal.

The church leaders pledged to report all claims involving children to civil authorities.

The new plan was adopted by 246 votes to seven, with six abstentions at a conference of bishops in Washington. It is virtually certain to become church law after a final Vatican review.

Criticism

At a meeting in Dallas in June, the bishops agreed on a zero tolerance policy towards sex abuse by priests - but that policy was rejected by the Vatican.

Protesters say the Church bowed to Vatican pressure

Under the revised rules there will be a time-limit - or statute of limitations - on past offences.

Child sex abuse victims and many reform-minded Catholics see the changes as a watering-down of the original policy and a concession to Vatican pressure, the BBC's Rob Watson reports from Washington.

In a year-long crisis for the Catholic Church in America, thousands of alleged child sex abuse victims have come forward and the Church has come under intense pressure to reform.

More than 300 priests in America have left the ministry in the past 10 months amid allegations of paedophile abuse.

Our correspondent says the changes are unlikely to draw a line under the scandal.

"The gulf between bishops and the victims and lay people in the church has grown wider by the vote today," said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Vatican officials had expressed concern after the Dallas conference that priests would not be guaranteed due process and that lay councils set up to advise bishops might be viewed as usurping a bishop's power.

Under the new rules, lay councils will continue to monitor abuse claims, but bishops are clearly given the authority to manage clergy.