WASHINGTON -- U.S. Catholic bishops will review a proposal to expel all priests who molest children in the future and those who have committed multiple cases of abuse in the past, according to the Associated Press.
The proposal, "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," requires dioceses to report all abuse accusations to police and cooperate in any investigations. A bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse drafted the charter.
The bishops will meet June 13-15 in Dallas to adopt a national policy to deal with sexual abuse. More than 225 clergy out of more than 46,000 U.S. priests have either resigned or been placed on leave since the crisis was unveiled in January, according to the AP.
The proposal calls for church leaders to handle single abuse accusations case-by-case, but says "any subsequent ministerial assignment must be accompanied by disclosure of the cleric's situation to those with whom he will live and serve."
Atlanta Archbishop John Donoghue said the single incidents of abuse will be the most difficult to address, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"That's where everybody is going to be hung up," he told the paper. "What about a guy who had a problem 30 years ago, had one accusation against him, and nothing since then? Do you then go back and tell him he can't minister anymore? It seems to me there's some injustice in that."
The Vatican must approve any policy adopted by the U.S. bishops.
