WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of
Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, has issued the following statement noting the steps the U.S. Bishops
Conference will take in addressing the failures of the Church in protecting the
people of God.

Cardinal DiNardo’s full statement follows:

“The
accusations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick reveal a grievous moral
failure within the Church. They cause bishops anger, sadness, and shame; I know
they do in me. They compel bishops to ask, as I do, what more could have been
done to protect the People of God. Both
the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for
decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral
failures of judgement on the part of Church leaders.

These
failures raise serious questions. Why weren’t these allegations of sins against
chastity and human dignity disclosed when they were first brought to Church
officials? Why wasn’t this egregious situation addressed decades sooner and
with justice? What must our seminaries do to protect the freedom to discern a
priestly vocation without being subject to misuse of power?

Archbishop
McCarrick will rightly face the judgement of a canonical process at the Holy
See regarding the allegations against him, but there are also steps we should
be taking as the Church here in the United States. Having prayed about this, I
have convened the USCCB Executive Committee.
This meeting was the first of many among bishops that will extend into
our Administrative Committee meeting in September and our General Assembly in
November. All of these discussions will be oriented toward discerning the right
course of action for the USCCB. This work will take some time but allow me to
stress these four points immediately.

First,
I encourage my brother bishops as they stand ready in our local dioceses to
respond with compassion and justice to anyone who has been sexually abused or
harassed by anyone in the Church. We
should do whatever we can to accompany them.

Second,
I would urge anyone who has experienced sexual assault or harassment by anyone
in the Church to come forward. Where the
incident may rise to the level of a crime, please also contact local law
enforcement.

Third,
the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will pursue the many questions
surrounding Archbishop McCarrick’s conduct to the full extent of its authority;
and where that authority finds its limits, the Conference will advocate with
those who do have the authority. One way
or the other, we are determined to find the truth in this matter.

Finally,
we bishops recognize that a spiritual conversion is needed as we seek to
restore the right relationship among us and with the Lord. Our Church is
suffering from a crisis of sexual morality. The way forward must involve
learning from past sins.

Let
us pray for God’s wisdom and strength for renewal as we follow St. Paul’s
instruction: ‘Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and pleasing and perfect’ (Romans 12:2).”

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Keywords:
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
USCCB, USCCB Executive Committee, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, moral failure,
seminaries, human dignity, canonical process, Holy See, General Assembly

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Media Contact:

Judy Keane

202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops