US Catholic bishops meeting in Dallas to address the sexual abuse of children by priests were poised today to adopt a tough national policy that would expel any cleric who ever molested a child.
While the nearly 300 bishops arrived at the meeting divided over the "zero tolerance past, present and future" approach, two days of gauging public opinion and listening to victims' wrenching stories of pain and alienation appeared to push most to favor a strict policy.
Several bishops, including a member of the committee charged with drafting the new policy, said there was little chance they would preserve an exception - contained in an early draft - that would allow some past, one-time offenders to remain priests under tight restrictions.
"To the best of my knowledge right now, that is well out of the draft," said Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. "It will not be part of the final document at all."
Earlier, Bishop George Niederauer of Salt Lake City, a member of the committee drafting the new policy, said most panel members were leaning toward a "zero tolerance" approach.
"The mood is very strongly in that direction," Bishop Niederauer said. "You'll find the draft is more strongly in that direction."
Bishops will debate the proposed policy this morning and were expected to vote on it at noon. Once voted by the bishops, the policy would have to be approved by the Vatican to become binding on all US dioceses.
The shift toward "zero tolerance" came after a day of extraordinary public contrition by bishops and cardinals, whose authority and moral leadership have been undermined by evidence some of them transferred known pedophiles from parish to parish without warning churchgoers.
Revelations of the apparent cover-up, starting in January with the case of a single priest in Boston, triggered a scandal that has shaken the church to its core, costing four US bishops and some 250 priests their jobs.
Bishops in Ireland, Poland, Canada and Australia have also been forced to quit over their involvement.