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Priest Publicly Challenges La Crosse Diocese's Standards In Reviewing Abuse Charges

By Howard M. Friedman

Yesterday's Milwaukee (WI) Journal Sentinel reports that James Connell, a priest and canon lawyer who serves on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Review Board has issued an open letter (full text) complaining that the standard of proof used by the Diocese of La Crosse's Child Sexual Abuse Review Board in evaluating whether to pursue a case against a priest or deacon is too high. He says that the Vatican requires any sexual abuse charge against a priest that "has a semblance of truth" to be referred to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (Vatican Guide).(See prior related posting.) However the La Crosse Diocesan Review Board that assists the Bishop in assessing charges apparently uses a standard of "moral certitude which excludes every prudent doubt or every doubt founded on positive reasons." Connell says that data for La Crosse shows a substantially higher percentage of unsubstantiated charges of abuse that the national average, and that this might be due to using too high a threshold in evaluating evidence. Connell went public after three months of trying to get the Diocese to make changes.

The Diocese of LaCrosse yesterday issued a Media Statement in response, calling Connell's statement a "personal highly technical opinion of church law." It says that it is fully complying with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People , and that a review of cases before the Review Board found none in which "a finding of insufficiency was based upon any canonical technicality." It says its standard of proof is one of "sufficiently confirmed." A May 11 letter (full text) from Msgr. Richard W. Gilles, the La Crosse Diocesan Administrator to the USCCB National Review Board says that the Diocese has consulted with its own canonist, Father Michael Gorman. The letter continues: "While Father Gorman points out some ambiguities which could give rise to some confusion about the burden of proof, Father Gorman does not share Father Connell?s views and opinions."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 18, 2010 (boomark / email).