DALLAS -- Pedophile priests will be barred from the ministry, according to guidelines adopted June 14 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Any charge of sexual abuse first will be reported to police, then the diocese, which must cooperate in any investigations, according to the Associated Press.
Accused priests will be removed from their parishes, stripped of their collars and barred from saying Mass publicly. If a priest admits to the abuse or is found guilty, he could be defrocked, the AP reported. The Vatican has to approve the national guidelines, a process that might take months.
Victims' advocates said the guidelines, which refer to future allegations but don't specifically address past cases of sexual abuse, don't go far enough. They have called for a zero-tolerance policy that would ban all accused priests from the Church.
Four U.S. bishops and about 250 priests have either left their positions voluntarily or been removed since the sex abuse scandal broke in January.
