
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995                   TAG: 9510250072
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CATHOLIC BISHOPS HARSHLY CONDEMN CHILD MOLESTING

After a decade in which the sins of pedophile priests have placed their church on a grudging defensive, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are issuing a forceful pastoral message that condemns the sexual abuse of children.

The bishops, whose church lauds the sanctity of family, declare it is better for families to break up than to leave their young ones at risk.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the document Tuesday; it is to be formally released Thursday.

In the statement, the bishops acknowledge their own vulnerability and damaged credibility concerning pedophilia. For years, abusive priests traditionally received counseling but then were sent on to new parishes, where more abuse sometimes occurred.

While forgiveness is often seen as charitable and Christlike, all acts of child sex abuse are morally evil and only God can absolve abusers, the bishops say in ``Walk in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse.''

``We emphasize that the community, including the family, needs to call the abuser to accountability,'' the bishops said. ``We need to say: Abusive behavior is wrong and we will hold you accountable for it.''

The statement, developed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' committees on Marriage and Family and on Women in Society and in the Church, was approved by the church's 50-member Administrative Committee. It will be distributed as a booklet to churches, parochial schools and church day-care centers.

Because of several publicized cases, organized groups of victims and the Catholic church's own sheer size and number of priests, the 60 million-member church has seemed especially mired in the murk of pedophilia.

Addressing an issue of special concern to victims, the bishops emphasized that abusers need to suffer the consequences of their actions; they urged church workers to become familiar with civil reporting requirements as well as church policies.

The healing of victims comes first, the bishops said, even at the cost of dividing families to remove abusers.

``You can't keep them intact at the cost of children being abused,'' Bishop John J. Snyder, chairman of the Committee on Women in Society and in the Church, said Tuesday.

The church should offer physical safety and help to survivors of abuse, the bishops said, and raise awareness of the issue in homilies and religious education programs for parents and children.

by CNB