Press Releases
June, 2002

Scenes from the U.S. Bishops' Meeting in Dallas

6.7.2002 Bishop Lori celebrates special Mass of Healing, Reconciliation, and Atonement

6.4.2002 Statement by Bishop Lori on draft USCCB Charter

At a Glance: The Catholic Church in the United States
Taken from the USCCB Source Book 2002

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Organizational Overview

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Development and Approval of Documents

The Loss of the Clerical State
By Rev. Gregory Ingles, JCD

To read the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
that was passed by a vote of 239-13 on June 14, click here.

To read the Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with
Allegations of Sexual Abuseof Minors by
Priests, Deacons, or Other Church Personnel
that was passed at the Bishops' Meeting, click here.

Fairfield County Catholic provides below exclusive photos by John Glover of Bishop Lori and his brother bishops at the historic meeting on sexual abuse in Dallas, TX, June 13-15, 2002.

The final deliberations before the vote on Friday afternoon were broadcast on closed-circuit television to the media center in the Fairmont Hotel. Cardinal Egan (on screen) was one of many bishops who spoke.

The U.S. Bishops met Friday to make the final revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, prior to the vote this afternoon. This morning, members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse lead the Bishops in discussing amendments to the document: (l-r) Archbishop Harry Flynn of Saint Paul-Minneapolis, MN; Chairman; Bishop John McCormack of Manchester, NH; Bishop Lori; and Archbishop John Myers of Newark, NJ.

Click here to read the final "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

Bishops opened the final day of the meeting with Morning Prayer. Bishop Basil H. Losten (second from left) of the Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford was among the 300 bishops from across the U.S.

On Thursday afternoon, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed the media at a press conference. "What we are facing is not a breakdown in belief, but a rupture in our relationship as Bishops with the faithful," Bishop Gregory said earlier in the day in his Presidential Address.

To read Bishop Wilton D. Gregory's Presidential Remarks, click here.

Television crews make good use of the rooftop of the Fairmont Hotel for interviews. Kelly O'Donnell, correspondent for NBC Nightly News, asked Bishop Lori about the strengthening of the draft document, which the Bishops will vote on on Friday.

Click here to see Kelly O'Donnell's coverage and her interview with Bishop Lori.

More than 300 bishops from across the United States assembled Thursday morning for the opening session of the historic Bishop's meeting.

To read Bishop Wilton D. Gregory's Presidential Remarks, click here.

Day One of the Meeting concluded with a press briefing at 6:30 p.m. Archbishop Harry Flynn (second from right), chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, addressed the media, joined by brother bishops and members of victims' groups.

Click here to read the presentations from several victims of Sexual Abuse who spoke to the bishops in Dallas.

More than 800 journalists descended upon the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas, for the historic three-day meeting of more than 300 bishops of the United States.

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6.7.2002 Bishop Lori celebrates special Mass of Healing, Reconciliation, and Atonement

6.4.2002 Statement by Bishop Lori on draft USCCB Charter

At a Glance: The Catholic Church in the United States
Taken from the USCCB Source Book 2002

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Organizational Overview

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Development and Approval of Documents

The Loss of the Clerical State
By Rev. Gregory Ingles, JCD

BRIDGEPORT - Friday, June 7, 2002, 5:30 p.m. The Most Reverend William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, celebrated a special Mass of Healing, Reconciliation, and Atonement today at Saint Augustine Cathedral. Joined by 20 priests and before a congregation of more than 200 people, Bishop Lori addressed the current crisis in the Catholic Church and issued a call for forgiveness.

Bishop Lori will join his brother bishops in Dallas, TX, June 13-15, to discuss the draft of a national Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The document was written by the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, of which Bishop Lori is a member.

As part of the spiritual preparation for this historic meeting, Bishop Lori designated today, the Church's celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as a Day of Healing, Reconciliation, and Atonement in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Priests in all 87 parishes in Fairfield County observed this special intention as they celebrated Mass, arranged Eucharistic Adoration, and heard Confessions.

"Every one of us, and certainly myself included, are in need of redemption, are in need of God's forgiveness, are in need of God's mercy," Bishop Lori said in his homily today. "And as a Church, the Diocese of Bridgeport, the Church of the United States, indeed the Church throughout the world, seeks healing and renewed strength for the task of proclaiming the Gospel and worshipping in spirit and in truth."

An excerpt from Bishop Lori's homily at Saint Augustine Cathedral today follows:

"Today, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, we celebrate the heart of all that matters -- the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And in the Sacred Heart of Jesus we are given a glimpse of what the heart of God is like. When Jesus' heart was pierced with a lance, as He died upon the Cross, we get a glimpse of the heart of the God who loves us so very much.

"Looking at the heart of Jesus, we contemplate the divine love we find in His heart. We turn to the Lord in this hour of crisis in the life of the Church to seek forgiveness, healing, and renewed hope.

"First, we look for forgiveness. In a few days, the Bishops of the United States will go to Dallas to consider a document on the sexual abuse of minors. In that document we Bishops acknowledge our profound responsibility for this crisis. Accordingly, we seek forgiveness from God, from the Church, and from those who have been harmed. Today, I stand before you as I stand before the Church at Bridgeport, to ask your forgiveness, to seek your understanding, and to solicit your prayers.

"And from forgiveness, there flows healing. What must be healed are the wounds inflicted by abuse in the lives of victims, many of whom carry with them terrible, terrible burdens. We can only sense their pain, and listen to their pain. And with these victims, our parish communities, many them so deeply affected, are in need of healing and renewal.

"We seek healing also for our priests -- the tremendous majority of priests who live their vocations joyfully, generously, and effectively. And yet, many of them feel, so understandably, that their vocations and reputations have been called into question by the actions of few. We seek healing for priests who are burdened. And we do so knowing that every one of us, and certainly myself included, are in need of redemption, are in need of God's forgiveness, are in need of God's mercy. And as a Church, the Diocese of Bridgeport, the Church of the United States, indeed the Church throughout the world, seeks healing and renewed strength for the task of proclaiming the Gospel and worshipping in spirit and in truth.

"With forgiveness and healing comes hope -- a hope inspired not solely on policies and procedures, as necessary and vitally needed as they are. But the real basis for our hope is the love we find in the heart of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. The love that you and I experience at every Mass, the love we experience from taking part in the Sacrament of Penance, in Reconciliation. The love we experience when we forgive one another. The love we experience in our moments of daily, quiet prayer as we ponder the Scriptures.

"May the love of the Sacred Heart prompt me and prompt all of us to address the present crisis with deep faith, with openness of spirit, with vigor, and with compassion. And may we do so in the hope that the Church, the Church that we love so much, will emerge stronger, more united, and holier than before. May God bless us and keep always us in His love."

-30-

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BRIDGEPORT - Tuesday, June 4, 2002, 5:30 p.m.

The Most Reverend William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, has issued the following statement regarding the draft Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

"The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People is a work in progress, a snapshot of the Bishops at work on a subject of the utmost importance. I fully expect that the draft document will be strengthened following further discussion in Dallas, especially with respect to past offenses.

"This first draft of the Charter contains a number of fundamental messages: the protection of children; outreach to victims of abuse; assurances to the faithful that our priests are trustworthy; and the commitment of Bishops across the country to act responsibly and accountably in all cases of sexual abuse.

"I ask for the prayers of the People of God in the Diocese of Bridgeport as my brother Bishops and I continue on our journey, allowing sunshine to light our path towards the restoration of trust and the protection of all our children and young people."

-30-

For more information on the USCCB draft Charter, visit www.nccbuscc.org.

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Laity

There are 65,270,444 Catholics in the United States (23% of the U.S. population), and 1,033,129,000 Catholics in the world (17.3% of the world population).

New Church Members
Infant Baptisms: 1,007,716
Adult Baptisms: 79,892
Received into Full Communion: 81,240

Dioceses and Archdioceses
In the United States there are 195 archdioceses and dioceses:
146 Latin church dioceses
32 Latin church archdioceses
15 Eastern church dioceses
2 Eastern church archdioceses

In addition, there is:
1 Non-territorial Eastern church apostolate

Clergy & Religious

Cardinals
There are 13 U.S. Cardinals:
8 U.S. Archdioceses are headed by Cardinals
Baltimore: Cardinal William Keeler
Boston: Cardinal Bernard Law
Chicago: Cardinal Francis George
Detroit: Cardinal Adam Maida
Los Angeles: Cardinal Roger Mahony
New York: Cardinal Edward Egan
Philadelphia: Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua
Washington: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

2 U.S. Cardinals are Vatican officials:
Cardinal James Stafford: President, Pontifical Council for the Laity
Cardinal Edmund Szoka: President, Pontifical Commission for Vatican City

2 U.S. Cardinals are retired:
Cardinal William Baum: Major Penitentiary Emeritus
Cardinal James Hickey: Archbishop Emeritus of Washington

1 U.S. Cardinal is an academic theologian:
Cardinal Avery Dulles: Professor of Theology, Fordham University

Bishops
There are 397 active and retired bishops in the United States:
191 (Arch)Diocesan
90 Auxiliaries
3 Coadjutors
113 Retired

Priests
There are 45,713 diocesan and religious-order priests in the United States:
30,429 diocesan priests
15,244 religious-order priests (Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, etc.)

Seminarians
There are 4,719 seminarians enrolled in the United States:
3,359 enrolled in diocesan seminaries
1,360 enrolled in religious-order seminaries

Permanent Deacons
There are 13,764 men who are ordained as permanent deacons in the United States. A permanent deacon is a man, either married or single, who is ordained to the order of deacons, the first of three ranks in ordained ministry. They assist priests in administrative and pastoral roles.

Vowed Religious
Sisters: 78,094
Brothers: 5,508

Service to the Public

Catholic Education

Elementary Schools: 6,946 schools educating 1,940,698 students
High Schools: 1,343 schools educating 691,386 students
Colleges and Universities: 238 institutions educating 724,065 students
Non-residential Schools for Handicapped Persons: 82 schools educating 18,696 students

Public School Students Receiving Religious Education:
Elementary School students: 3,547,478
High School students: 766,754

Health Care and Hospitals

Hospitals: 597 hospitals treated 82,395,935 patients
Other Health Care Centers: 483 centers treated 5,811,381 patients

Social Services

More than 1,640 local Catholic Charities agencies and institutions provided services to 7,017,845 individuals in need of help.

Emergency Services: 5,352,376 people served; of these:
Food Services (e.g. food banks, soup kitchens): 3,929,387
Basic Needs Assistance (e.g. clothing, medical, financial): 1,106,708
Disaster Response Assistance: 194,081
Community Assistance: 902,489 people served; of these Immigration assistance (e.g. citizenship counseling): 236,140
Neighborhood services (sports, camps, job fairs): 392,598
Refugee Resettlement : 82,482 (resettlement and placement, ESL classes, job training)
Housing (e.g. vouchers, subsidies, home repair): 32,556

Social Services: 3,142,167 people served; of these:
Counseling and mental health: 547,732
Education and enrichment (e.g. substance abuse awareness, parenting classes): 525,689
Drug and addiction services: 78,899
Social support (day care, employment training, transportation): 1,307,044

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Introduction

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the national membership organization of the Catholic Bishops in the United States. Through this organization the bishops fulfill some of their responsibilities of leadership and service to Church and nation.

The programs of the USCCB range the spectrum of Catholic concerns -- from prayers and worship to the state of the economy, from revitalizing parishes to averting nuclear war, from promoting vocations to protecting life at all stages.

Brief History

National Catholic War Council
The USCCB has its roots in the second decade of the twentieth century. When the United States entered World War I, the American hierarchy, under the leadership of James Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, formed the National Catholic War Council. The council enabled Catholics to contribute funds and commit personnel to meet servicemen's spiritual and recreational needs. It also demonstrated the value of episcopal collaboration at the national level. Further encouragement came from Pope Benedict XV; in a 1919 letter he urged the hierarchy to join him in working for peace and social justice.

National Catholic Welfare Conference
The bishops responded by deciding to meet annually and to set up several standing committees. On September 24, 1919, they adopted resolutions providing "that an organization be formed of the hierarchy to be known as the National Catholic Welfare Council," and calling for the election of a seven-member administrative committee to handle the council's business between plenary meetings. By the end of the year, headquarters were established in Washington, DC, and a general secretary and staff appointed.

The word "conference" soon replaced "council" in the organization's title, underlining the fact that it was a consultative rather than a legislative body. In addition, a second entity came into existence. While the National Catholic Welfare Conference comprised the bishops in their annual meeting, the NCWC, Inc. consisted of the bishops working through their staff in such areas as education, immigration, and social action. The organizations served the Church in the United States until after the Second Vatican Council.

National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference
In 1966, the hierarchy voted to establish twin organizations -- the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC). Through the NCCB, the bishops fulfilled Vatican II's mandate that bishops "jointly exercise their pastoral office" and allowed them to attend to the Church's own affairs in this country. Through the USCC, the bishops collaborated with other Catholics to address issues that concern the Church as part of the larger society.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Over a period of years, the structure of the twin organizations was studied and a series of votes resulted in a single entity -- the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops -- which came into being in 2001. Like its predecessor organizations, the USCCB is organized around a number of committees and continues to address the ecclesiastical and societal concerns of the Catholic Church in the United States.

The USCCB is served by a General Secretariat that administers a staff of about 400 -- 375 of whom are located in Washington, DC. The U.S. Bishops' Advisory Council, a 60-member national body of clergy, religious, laity, and bishops, meets twice a year to discuss issues and make recommendations to the Administrative Committee.

Committees

There are currently 33 standing Committees. Some have full-time staff, many do not. Those with staff include:

African-American Catholics, served by the Secretariat for African-American Catholics, serves as liaison with other NCCB/USCC units and with national African-American Catholic organizations and other national groups.

American Bishops' Overseas Appeal and Migration are served by Migration and Refugee Services which helps tens of thousands of refugees and displaced persons providing relocation, education, housing, employment assistance, and pastoral care. MRS, through its network of field offices, processes over 30 percent of the refugees arriving in this country each year.

Canonical Affairs and Doctrine and Pastoral Practices, are staffed by the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices.

Catholic Campaign for Human Development is staffed by a Department of the same name. CCHD is the nation's largest private funding program for self-help projects for poor and low-income groups. In late 1988, CCHD's ad hoc committee was voted to the rank of a full standing committee.

Church in Latin America, staffed by the Secretariat for the Church in Latin America, promotes and administers the annual collection which provides financial support for pastoral programs of the Church in Latin America.

Communications is staffed by the Department of Communications. The four offices that make up the Department of Communications address the Church's responsibility in and through the print and electronic media. They do this through film and television, national and local media, an international news organization, technical and financial assistance to a wide variety of media projects, and review of federal legislation. The Department includes the Office for Film and Broadcasting, the Catholic News Service, the Catholic Communication Campaign, and the Office for Media Relations.

Diaconate is staffed by the Secretariat for the Diaconate which guides the restoration of the permanent diaconate and the development of diaconal ministry.

Domestic Policy and International Policy are staffed by the Department of Social Development and World Peace. The Department has two offices: Domestic Social Development and International Justice and Peace. The Office of Domestic Social Development is concerned with such issues as the economy, labor, the federal budget, voting rights, energy, health and housing, and rural affairs. The Office of International Justice and Peace deals with military and political issues affecting other nations, human rights, the arms race, and global economy.

Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs is staffed by a Secretariat by the same name which represents the bishops in their work in promoting the full unity of all Christians, strengthening bonds with Judaism, and fostering esteem among all religions.

Education is staffed by the Department of Education which offers leadership in many forms of educational and catechetical ministry. These include implementing the National Catechetical Directory that gives norms for religious education programs throughout the country; offering programs that support adult education; providing family ministry, campus ministry, and youth ministry programs; and fostering the full participation of Catholic schools in federal assistance programs.

Evangelization is staffed by a Secretariat of the same name.

Hispanic Affairs is staffed by the Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs seeks to address the pastoral needs of Hispanic Catholics in the United States.

Home Missions and World Missions are staffed by a Secretariat on Missions.

Laity and Marriage and Family Life and Women in Society and in the Church are staffed by the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women, and Youth which works to strengthen shared responsibility of the mission of the Church, to provide a family perspective in Church and society, and to promote a greater awareness of the needs and contributions of women, youth and young adults.

Liturgy is staffed by the Secretariat for the Liturgy. The Secretariat oversees the development and approval of liturgical books and texts, provides leadership in liturgical formation and sacramental catechesis, and serves as a liturgical resource for bishops and diocesan liturgical commissions and offices of worship.

Priestly Formation and Vocations are served by the Secretariat for Priestly Formation and Vocations which encourages vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life, and collaborates with national Catholic organizations concerned with vocations.

Priestly Life and Ministry is served by a Secretariat of the same name.

Pro-Life Activities is served by a Secretariat of the same name which promotes programs of education, public policy, and pastoral care to enhance respect for the dignity of human life, especially the life of the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled.

Science and Human Values, staffed by the Secretariat for Science and Human Values.

World Mission is staffed by a Secretariat of the same name.

Committees without permanent, full-time staffs include:

American College of Louvain
Boundaries of Dioceses and Provinces
Consecrated Life
North American College, Rome
Relationship Between Eastern and Latin Catholic Churches
Selection of Bishops.

The Conference also has a shifting number of ad hoc committees that study and report on specific questions or carry out particular tasks. Some of these become standing committees if it becomes apparent that there is a long- term need for their work. Others complete their assignments and go out of existence, to be replaced by committees with new missions.

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Introduction

A document on the agenda of the plenary assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops typically has been through a lengthy consultation process.

The Conference is organized around an extensive committee structure. Most documents originate in one of the various committees whose members are bishops and which often have lay consultants. Once a committee has been authorized to proceed generally by the Administrative Committee research and drafting at the staff level may begin. A committee will review, revise, and often rewrite a document a number of times before it votes to transmit it to the Administrative Committee for further action.

The USCCB's Administrative Committee is the board of trustees of the civil corporation. It is charged with carrying on the work of the Conference between plenary assemblies, preparing the agenda for these meetings, and overseeing the work of the Conferences General Secretariat. Its membership is comprised of the Conference officers, the elected chairmen of the standing committees, one representative of each of the 13 USCCB regions, the chairman of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services, and the immediate past president in the first year following his term.

The Administrative Committee meets in March, September, and immediately prior to the November plenary assembly. The items on its March and September agendas are reviewed and discussed by the lay, clergy, and religious members of the bishops National Advisory Council (NAC) who make formal, and often specific, recommendations to the Administrative Committee.

Following its own deliberations, and taking into account the recommendations of the NAC, the Administrative Committee may choose from several actions with regard to a draft document before it. It may remand the document to committee for further development and revision; it may authorize its publication as a document issued by the originating committee; it may issue the document in its own name. If the document is sufficiently substantive or if canon law requires action by the full membership, however, the Administrative Committee will place it on the agenda for the next plenary assembly.

Plenary Assemblies

Canon law and the USCCB statutes require that a plenary assembly be held at least once a year. For many years, the Conference has met twice annually in November in Washington and in June in alternating host cities around the country.

Meetings open with prayer and the normal business attendant to a meeting of this sort: approval of the agenda, approval of the minutes, and so forth. These are followed by a preliminary presentation of action items. At this time, the chairmen of relevant committees briefly introduce the items the bishops will debate and vote on during the meeting. A chairman typically will present a synopsis of the document and announce the deadline for receiving amendments. There is little or no discussion of the items at this introductory stage.

Plenary assemblies are conducted, for the most part, in open session, with staff, media and invited observers welcome in the meeting room. An executive session is always scheduled, however, which only the bishops are allowed to attend.

Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, govern the assembly's proceedings. A direct descendant of Henry Martyn Robert, the original author of Roberts Rules, serves as parliamentarian.

Amendments

Documents presented for action by the bishops are always subject to amendment. Under normal circumstances, draft documentation will be sent to the bishops at least 30 days prior to a plenary assembly. Bishops are then free to submit amendments to the chairman of the appropriate committee. Similarly, at the time he makes his preliminary presentation, the committee chairman will announce a deadline for submitting amendments, usually by the close of business of the day prior to the scheduled vote.

The committee of jurisdiction then meets to dispose of the amendments. Its recommendations are subsequently presented to the full membership for final action: the bishops are asked to accept en bloc the amendments accepted by the committee and then reject en bloc the amendments rejected by the committee. Any bishop is free to ask for separate consideration of any amendment.

Votes

All active members of the Conference -- that is active diocesan or eparchial bishops, coadjutors, or auxiliaries in the United States or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or those equivalent to diocesan bishops according to canon law -- have a deliberative vote at plenary assemblies in most circumstances. Retired bishops do not have a vote, but are invited to speak to matters before the Conference. There are two circumstances in which not all bishops may vote. In matters which affect only the Latin Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Bishops have a consultative voice but not a vote. Likewise, only diocesan or eparchial bishops not auxiliaries or coadjutors are allowed to vote on financial matters.

Conference matters shall normally be decided by voice vote, with a simple majority of those present and voting the typical threshold for approval. In some specified instances, a two-thirds majority is necessary for approval.

Article XIII of the USCCB Statutes clearly states that decisions of the Conference are normally devoid of juridical binding force. It recommends, however, that as an expression of collegial responsibility such decisions should be observed when passed by a majority of the membership.

Exceptions to Article XIII include cases where universal law has so prescribed, or by special mandate of the Holy See, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Conference ... In those cases, the Conference can issue general decrees which are binding only when they are approved by two-thirds vote of the Conference's membership and granted recognitio or confirmation by the Holy See.

Until the November 2001 plenary assembly, votes were conducted by secret paper ballot, which were tallied by tellers and reported by the president of the Conference in open session. Votes remain secret but are now conducted by electronic voting machine under most circumstances.

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Canon Law views the status of priests from three perspectives. The first perspective is from the point of view of the sacred order that he has received; the second addresses the faculties which he enjoys; and the third views his relationship to his diocese or religious institute as a cleric.

With regard to the first perspective, once validly ordained, a priest's ordination never becomes invalid, even if he loses the clerical state.

With regard to the second perspective, a priest's faculties are his license to exercise his ministry. Some faculties are granted by the universal law of the Church; others are granted by the bishop of the diocese to which the priest is attached by reason of his ordination or by the bishop of the diocese in which he is residing. For sufficiently serious reasons, a bishop can prohibit a priest from exercising his faculties during the course of an investigation into criminal misconduct. If this criminal misconduct is established through a canonical penal process, a priest's faculties can be removed or suspended. He still remains a priest and a cleric; this action simply means that he is forbidden from exercising his priestly ministry.

A priest can also lose the clerical state. The effect of this is a permanent separation from all ministry: he loses all rights and faculties associated with the priesthood and is not authorized to exercise ministry in the name of the Church; and he is also dispensed from all obligations arising from his ordination to the priesthood, most notably the obligations of celibacy; and he loses his incardination, that is, his special bond with the Church as a priest.

A priest can lose the clerical state in one of three ways:

(1) He can personally request a dispensation from the obligations arising from his ordination. This is commonly known as a petition for laicization, and it is granted only by the Holy Father through a process which is conducted by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Depending on the reasons for the request, it is usually granted within six months of the presentation of the petition to the Congregation. However, in urgent cases involving issues such as criminal behavior, a dispensation can be granted within a number of weeks. This process must be initiated by the priest himself.

(2) A priest can be dismissed from the clerical state as a penalty for serious offenses. The law requires that such a dismissal be conducted by a judicial forum, that is, before a diocesan tribunal in accord with the legal procedures that govern criminal trials under canon law. Certain crimes, such as the sexual abuse of minors, are reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This means that once the local bishop has completed his investigation of the alleged crime, the results of this investigation must be sent to the Congregation which will then judge whether the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state can be imposed. Since this is done within a judicial process, the procedural laws of the Church must be observed with regards to the rights of victims, the rights of the accused priest, and the rights of the diocesan bishop. Given the nature of any judicial process, this can be a most time consuming procedure, at times taking years to complete.

(3) The Church has also provided for the administrative dismissal of priests in the past for urgent reasons and only in grave matters; and the use of this process has always been considered an exception to the law. The most recent example of this process has been the dismissal of priests through the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for proven acts of misconduct involving the sexual abuse of minors. Certain key elements have always been required in order to invoke this process: The priest must specifically state that he is unwilling to petition for laicization personally. There must be a criminal conviction associated with the priests sexual abuse of minors or a decision in a civil lawsuit demonstrating his responsibility for this abuse. The priest who is going to be subjected to dismissal must be afforded a true right of defense. This means that the priest must be given an opportunity of presenting a defense, especially if he has pleaded to a lesser charge in order to avoid criminal prosecution of a more serious charge. The same principle applies if a settlement has been reached in a civil lawsuit and the priest was never afforded an opportunity to respond to the allegations and defend himself. A Promoter of Justice must prepare an opinion. The person holding this office has the responsibility of assuring that a proper process has taken place and that there has not been a miscarriage of justice.

The question of dismissing a cleric or removing him from ministry for allegations which are decades old is a significant problem for the Church. The current law of the Church provides for the imposition of the penalty of dismissal through the judicial process only if a provable offense is brought to the attention of church authorities before the 28th birthday of the victim (10 years beyond majority). If a victim has reached his or her 28th birthday and has not reported the offense, the Church's statute of limitations applies; and a priest cannot be dismissed from the clerical state or otherwise penalized in the judicial process on the basis that the allegations have not been brought forward within the legally provided period of time. These restrictions, however, to not apply to the use of the third process, the administrative dismissal of a priest from the clerical state.

At the moment, the process for the administrative dismissal of priests for the sexual abuse of minors through the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments appears to be suspended. This is a result of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith assuming competence in these cases. It is not clear at the moment whether this process will be reinstated or what office of the Holy See will be responsible for handling these cases.

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