The Vatican and US Catholic Church leaders have named the members of a commission to revise a charter against child abuse, which the Holy See rejected last week as imprecise, Vatican officials said yesterday.
The Vatican chose Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who heads the powerful Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, and three high-ranking bishops, Julian Herranz from Spain and Tarcisio Bertone and Francesco Monterisi, both from Italy.
The US church leadership named the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis Eugene George, the Bishop of San Francisco, William Joseph Levada, the Bishop of Rockford, Thomas George Doran and the Bishop of Bridgeport, William Edward Lori.
The Vatican last week rejected as "vague and imprecise" guidelines on dealing with child-abusing priests, submitted for its approval by US bishops.
Bishop accepts mistakes made
The Bishop of Clogher, Dr Joseph Duffy, has said he realises that mistakes have been made in the past in dealing with child abuse.
Speaking to local radio station Shannonside/Northern Sound, the bishop said people totally misunderstood the paedophile problem, and got it wrong. He said that medical help had been suggested for the problem but this was simply not good enough "and unfortunately led to the predicament we found ourselves in now".