Bishops to delay vote on steps to curb sex-abuse crisis

BALTIMORE — In an abrupt change of plans, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened the group’s national meeting Monday by announcing it will delay for at least several months any votes on proposed new steps to address the clergy sexabuse crisis that is rocking the church.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, of Galveston-Houston, said the delay was requested by the Vatican, which asked that the U.S. bishops wait until after a Vatican-convened global meeting on sex abuse in February.

DiNardo told the U.S. bishops, “I remain hopeful that this additional consultation will ultimately improve our response to the crisis we face.”

The bishops are meeting through Wednesday in Baltimore and had been expected to consider several steps to combat abuse, including a new code of conduct for themselves and the creation of a special commission to review complaints against the bishops.

At their meeting, the bishops may proceed with discussions of the proposals, which were drafted in September by the bishops’ Administrative Committee. But there will be no immediate vote.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, of Chicago, suggested that the bishops hold a special assembly in March to vote on the measures after considering the results of the global meeting in February.

DiNardo, in his address opening the bishops’ assembly, told survivors of clergy abuse that he was “deeply sorry.” The church, he said, should not revictimize survivors “by demanding they heal on our timeline.”