Vatican Asks U.S. Bishops Not to Vote on Their Proposals to Tackle Sexual Abuse
The Washington Post’s Julie Zauzmer and Michelle Boorstein report that this morning Pope Francis asked the bishops of the United States’ Catholic dioceses and archdioceses not to vote on any of their proposals to combat the sexual abuse crisis in the church. The pope reportedly wants the bishops, who gathered in Baltimore this morning for the first time since the abuse crisis erupted this past summer, to wait for him to lead a worldwide meeting of church leaders in February. Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, said, “We’re seeing where the problem lies, which is with the Vatican. The outcome of this meeting, at best, was going to be tepid and ineffectual, but now it’s actually going to be completely without substance.”