U.S. officials at Vatican welcome release of sex abuse studies

Published: 2004-02-27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Two top U.S. officials at the Vatican welcomed the release of new studies on clergy sexual abuse in the United States, saying they will help the church address the root causes of the scandal. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, formerly archbishop of Denver, said the 145-page report on the causes of sex abuse, carried out by the exclusively lay National Review Board, represented a courageous step by U.S. bishops and should serve as a model for other institutions. He said it had highlighted a "crisis" in understanding and appreciating priestly celibacy. Archbishop John P. Foley, formerly a Catholic newspaper editor in Philadelphia, said that although it was very disappointing to learn that 4 percent of priests have been accused of sexual abuse the commissioning of the studies by U.S. bishops was "a very good corporate examination of conscience." The prelates made the comments in interviews with Catholic News Service in Rome Feb. 27, the day the review board's report was issued in Washington.

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