Editorial Initial step
to the administration's goals. Whether administration hawks acted out of hubris, moral self-righteousness, or Machiavellian conviction, the result is the same: The credibility and integrity of U.S....
...and most important, calls for a thoroughgoing retrofitting of the original Dallas Charter, offering fifty-two detailed recommendations for making the charter more effective...
...Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) provides reason for cautious hope...
...The study warns that the administration's multifarious and conflicting goals for its war on terror cannot be reconciled, that the "war" as presently defined cannot be won, and that the occupation of Iraq has pushed the Army "near the breaking point...
...It will reinforce the sense the laity has had, since the abuse scandal broke two years ago, that they have been betrayed by a hierarchy intent on protecting the church's reputation, not its children...
...That contempt was as misplaced as his certainty about WMD...
...Adherence to the Dallas Charter, even as it now stands, is strictly voluntary...
...It is in the nation's interest, especially in an era of terrorism, that intelligence reports be as objective as possible...
...troops to prevent human-rights abuses in other parts of the world...
...ICH -cell/ Himrlc, rgh nll !tic inrnun~lim{ uinm'ricH OHO' rnOrke (150 ~,nrLlOm hil{ H^rt°reign 1101iun nnl of Ihn ut lnolr Hiin © ROSS / ROTHCOINITIAL STEP The release on January 6, 2004, of the audit report by the Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP) of the U.S...
...The Carnegie report urges that a nonpartisan commission be established to investigate how U.S...
...The bishops should adopt the substance of these recommendations at their next general meeting...
...Commonweal 6 January 30, 2004...
...It does not provide cumulative figures as to the extent, duration, and costs of the abuse...
...It is time for Bush to admit to the American people, and to the world, that he was wrong about Iraq's WMD...
...diocese or eparchy is carrying out the bishops' 2002 Dallas Charter to insure the protection of young people from clerical sexual abuse...
...Bush was little more than contemptuous of those who questioned the necessity of war...
...It goes even further in arguing that the invasion of Iraq has distracted us from and undermined the battle against Al Qaeda...
...Like the Carnegie report, the Army War College study insists that Saddam Hussein's regime and Al Qaeda are separate and distinct dangers that should not be conflated...
...If democracy is what Americans are fighting and dying for in Iraq, it behooves the president to respect the need democracy has for the truth...
...Some initial disappointment and confusion greeted the report...
...intelligence has been politicized and fatally compromised...
...Who will now believe U.S...
...The John Jay report will not only spell out the numbers of victims, perpetrators, and the costs, it is likely to encourage other victims to step forward...
...His post facto justification of the war on human rights and humanitarian grounds is self-serving...
...Still, confessing one's sins and pledging a firm purpose of amendment are not sufficient...
...That is why the refusal of some bishops to co-operate fully with the OCYP or with the John Jay study is with-in an ordinary's rights...
...Now the bishops must assure the church—and the American public—that the Dallas Charter is a permanent, effective tool for protecting the young, and a useful model for other institutions faced with similar responsibilities...
...A second report, to be is-sued in late February under the auspices of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will deal with the broader nature and scope of the sexual-abuse scandal...
...He needs to explain why he was wrong, and what steps he is taking to make sure he isn't wrong again when faced with a similar decision...
...This should not detract from the serious work evident in the OCYP's first annual report...
...If that is what he believes, why didn't he make that clear to the American people in the first place...
...Bush has not only damaged relations with our allies—relationships crucial to the success of the war against terror—he has debased American democracy by practicing a crude ends-justifies-themeans morality...
...If that is the case, why hasn't Bush used U.S...
...The January 6 report, under the direction of Kathleen Mc-Chesney of the OCYP, marks an impressive beginning in that respect...
...is aware of its own methodological limitations...
...As mandated, the audit concentrated on analyzing each diocese's compliance with the Dallas Charter in the one year since it was promulgated...
...Both the OCYP and the John Jay reports are necessary responses, however, and the bishops (97 percent of whom are cooperating with the John Jay study) are to be commended for taking these steps...
...intelligence could have been so wrong...
...It is the first report card on how each U.S...
...Further evidence of the administration's hubris can be found in a study of the war on terror issued by the Strategic Studies Institute at the Army's War College...
...claims about "imminent" threats posed by North Korea or Iran...
...It further recommends that the office of di-rector of the Central Intelligence Agency be given greater independence, and that directors serve for a fixed term...
...Despite what this president seems to think, truth is not fungible...
...Yet bishops who refuse to cooperate are damaging the long-term health of their dioceses, and diminishing the credibility of the USCCB and of the church as a whole...
...Catholics should be prepared for more disheartening news when that study is issued...
...Only when the bishops fully implement adequate programs to protect children will the faithful begin to regain a sense of trust...
...Within a short time frame, and starting nearly from scratch, the OCYP has provided not only credible figures and a commendable sense of lay over-sight, but also a useful baseline to anchor further reports...
...It conveys a sense of urgency and genuine compassion for the victims...
Vol. 131 • January 2004 • No. 2
