Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
June 12, 2002
Ecumenical partners express support for Catholic efforts on abuse
Statement of 11 ecumenical representatives says Church does not stand alone
NEW YORK (CNS) — Eleven ecumenical partners of the Roman Catholic Church have pledged their support for efforts to deal with sexual misconduct by clergy and lay leaders as the Catholic bishops prepared to discuss the issue in Dallas.
"All Christians must work together in seeking to find ways to offer healing to those who have been so wounded and to restore the faithful to the faith that has been taken from them by these actions," said a statement issued after a June 5 meeting at the Episcopal Church Center in New York.
"It was clear from the meeting that the Roman Catholic Church and its bishops do not stand alone in the painful experience of dealing with sexual misconduct among clergy and lay leaders in the Church," the statement said. "The Catholic Church shares with the wider ecumenical community deep concern for the victims of sexual abuse, especially children and young people."
The meeting was convened by Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore and included 13 representatives of U.S. Christian denominations with episcopal church structures, as well as three staff members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Cardinal Keeler is a longtime member of the Catholic bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
Participants in the meeting gave their input on the draft text of the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," which was to be discussed by the bishops June 13-15 in Dallas, and shared information about the sexual misconduct policies in their own denominations.
"The American bishops of the Catholic Church are going to their semiannual meeting in Dallas with a determination to provide clear policies in dioceses throughout America that will ensure the protection of children and prevention of abuse," Cardinal Keeler said.
At the New York meeting, "the participants agreed to seek ways in the future to cooperate together in order to take even more dramatic steps on the specific issue of abuse of children and young people in church and society," the statement said.
In addition to the USCCB, Church leaders in New York represented the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ; Armenian Orthodox Church in America; Orthodox Church in America; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Episcopal Church; Reformed Church in America; Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in America; United Methodist Church; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese; United Church of Christ; and Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
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