Review board head opposes naming clergy, women religious to board

Published: 2004-09-22

CHICAGO (CNS) -- The interim head of the bishops' National Review Board has criticized any effort to place a priest or a woman religious on the board, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with child sex abuse prevention policies. A cleric or woman religious has vows of obedience that could lead to pressures by church officials on how the board monitors compliance, said Justice Anne M. Burke. Burke said she and other board members objected when they received a fax in mid-September from the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., with the name of a nun on the list of individuals to replace the five current board members whose terms expire before the end of the year. A USCCB spokesman told CNS that the decision has not been made yet on the new board members.

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