Baltimore, Md., Jun 12, 2019 / 16:04 pm
The US bishops voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to authorize a national third-party system for victims confidentially to report cases of abuse by bishops in violation of Vos estis lux mundi.
"I think it's obvious to me, and hopefully, I think, to all of us, that victim-survivors are a priority to all of us," said Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, during deliberations June 12 on the reporting system at the bishops' Spring General Assembly in Baltimore, Md.
"When that situation happens," he said to the bishops of cases of reported abuse, "I think that every single one of us is going to be very attentive to the needs and healing process of victim-survivors. So I think this system will help us to precisely make sure that anyone who suffers abuse is going to be taken care of."
The bishops met for the second day of their annual spring meeting Wednesday, during which they voted to authorize the third-party reporting system, in addition to approving a set of proposed strategic priorities for their upcoming 2021-24 Strategic Plan.