Canon Lawyers Say Due Process
Limited for Accused Priests
As U.S. dioceses work through the cases
of clerics accused of sex abuse of minors, several canon
lawyers who are defending accused priests have complained
that the procedures limit due process for their clients. “Under
church law you are innocent until proven guilty,” said
Frank Morrisey, an Oblate priest and canon lawyer who is
defending several U.S. priests. Yet once a cleric has been
accused, he is suspended from public ministry before he
can mount a defense, he said. Critics say that this amounts
to punishment without proof of guilt.
Father Morrisey said that the accused has
to wait months for the Vatican’s Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, which has overall authority
in sexual abuse cases, to review the diocese’s preliminary
investigation and tell the diocese how to proceed in the
case. One must expect a six- to eight-month delay after
a bishop sends th! e case to the doctrinal congregation.
Another canon lawyer, the Rev. Nicholas Rachford, said
this delay puts accused priests in a state of “suspended
animation.”
Father Rachford said that the suspension
from ministry before proof of guilt causes the loss of
reputation of the accused. “He is removed from ministry.
He is removed from the rectory,” said Father Rachford,
tribunal judge for the Byzantine Eparchy of Parma, Ohio.
(An eparchy is the Eastern-rite equivalent of a diocese.) “This
is a loss of reputation as soon as he leaves the rectory.”
Father Rachford said there seems to be a
presumption of guilt with the presentation of the accusation,
even before the preliminary investigation has been conducted.
Many priests are being suspended from public ministry right
after the accusation, although the norms say that suspension
is to be imposed after the sending of the preliminary investigation
to the doctrinal congregation, said Father Rachford. The
Rev. Ronny Jenk! ins, consultant to the U.S.C.C.B. on the
special norms, said that the suspension is applied “to
protect the public just in case. It is not an indication
of guilt.” Father Jenkins said that the diocese must
provide the suspended priest with food, housing and a salary
during this administrative leave.
During the preliminary investigation, an
accused priest does not have the formal due process that
he would have at a trial; but he retains basic rights,
such as the right to his good name, said Father Jenkins.
Church officials are also required to provide a church
lawyer for an accused person who is unable to provide for
one, he said.
As for how quickly the doctrinal congregation
is getting back to dioceses, the time varies. The Archdiocese
of Detroit received answers on two major cases “in
a couple of months,” said Auxiliary Bishop Walter
A. Hurley, who handles sexual abuse issues for the archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Chicago waited about six months before
it was t! old to hold a trial for one priest, said the
Rev. Patrick Lagges, archdiocesan judicial vicar. He said
the archdiocese has 13 other cases still pending. About
10 were sent to Rome at the end of July and the rest at
the end of September, said Father Lagges.
Father Morrisey said that another problem
in presenting a defense is that many alleged offenses happened
decades ago. Evidence and witnesses are hard to find, and
many cases could end up being decided on the word of the
accuser versus that of the accused, he said.
John Thavis |
