COMMENTARY: Vatican Letter on Abusive Priests Is Ineffective

A Vatican letter this week informed all Roman Catholic bishops that it is important that they cooperate with police in reporting priests who abuse children; however, the letter only suggests -- and does not require -- that bishops report cases of abuse to police.

Moreover, the suggestions in the letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are vague and nonbinding, in that they contain no enforcement mechanisms to ensure that bishops follow the recommended guidelines.

The letter is the latest effort of the Vatican to root out pedophile priests and prevent priestly child abuse. Last year, thousands of victims abused by priests came forward, and the Catholic Church paid many millions of dollars to these victims.

Unfortunately, the Vatican letter will have little -- if any -- effect in diminishing the sexual abuse problem that has been pervading the Catholic Church. Why? Because it does not change the bishops' exclusive authority in dealing with abuse cases.

In the past, Catholic bishops tended to quietly transfer priests accused of sexual abuse of children to another parish, in order to "resolve" this abuse. Retaining the bishops' authority to deal with accusations against abusive priests does not change this modus operandi. Thus, bishops transferring priests -- instead of preventing them from performing pastoral duties -- will probably continue to prevail.

To add fuel to the fire in this situation, the Vatican letter says that independent lay review boards -- which have been established in some countries to oversee the church's child protection policies and ensure compliance -- cannot substitute for bishops' judgment and authority.

By denying lay review boards any authority in dealing with abusive priests, the Vatican has, in effect, conveyed that it is more concerned with maintaining the authoritative powers of its bishops than it is with resolving the child abuse by its priests.

In the final analysis, the Vatican's handling of the sexual abuse scandal by Catholic priests indicates that the Vatican is its own worst enemy.