Singling out The New York Times, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York blasted media coverage of the Vatican’s revised norms for the clerical abuse of minors and other exceptionally serious crimes. “Because of all the inaccuracies in the recent coverage of the Catholic Church in the New York Times and other publications, appearing in news articles, editorials, and op-eds, I was tempted to try my best to offer corrections to the multitude of errors,” he said in his latest blog posting.
“However, I soon realized that this would probably be a full time job.”
“It is a source of consternation as to why, instead of complimenting the Vatican and a reformer like Pope Benedict XVI, for codifying procedures long advocated by critics, such outfits would instead choose to intrude on a matter of internal doctrine, namely the ordination of women.”
“It’s not merely administrative housekeeping as some have said, or procedural updates. The offenses listed-- child abuse, use of child pornography, and abuse of a mentally disabled adult-- now carry the weight of the most serious of crimes against the very heart of the Church,” he added.
“These norms speed up the processing of cases, allow qualified individuals who are not priests to serve on tribunals, require that the sexual abuse of a mentally handicapped person be treated as gravely as that of a minor, extends the time in which penalties are applicable, and confirm that child pornography is not only a grievous sin but a church crime. These are serious advances and clearly lay out Pope Benedict’s ongoing firm commitment to providing justice and healing for the victims of abuse in an effective, timely, just and compassionate manner.”
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