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Article: Bishops forcefully deliver ambiguous message; while trying to reaffirm their commitment to zero tolerance on sex abuse, the bishops also attempted to present a public face that said, `the worst is over, all's now well'. (Analysis).
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- November 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By most accounts, the U.S. bishops succeeded in delivering two clear messages during their fall meeting in Washington Nov. 11-14. The jury is still out, however, as to whether they can ultimately make either message stick.
At one level, the bishops affirmed in the strongest possible terms that their policy of zero tolerance for sex abuse is still in place, despite recent revisions to satisfy Vatican concerns about due process.
On a second front, more at the level of tone than content, the bishops delivered a subtle, but unmistakable, message to the Catholic world. In the simplest terms, it was: "We're back in business."
The dramatic arc of the ...