Religion briefs

Vatican adds rules on sex-abuse probes

The Vatican on Jan. 9 said Pope John Paul II is setting new norms for dealing with non-diocesan priests accused of sex abuse of minors.

Some priests in Hawai'i, such as the Benedictines and the Jesuits, aren't under the jurisdiction of the diocese; they report instead to the head of their particular order.

As some are interpreting the new norms, which were not published, the Vatican is requiring that these priests be subject to a separate, parallel church investigation, which would be kept confidential.

But the ambiguous wording has led some to question whether priests would still be required to alert police in cases of sex abuse.

"If the pope really wants to make it clear that sex abuse against children will not be tolerated, he needs to make it clear that police or civil authorities need to be contacted immediately," said Mitch Kahle, whose Separation of Church and State group protested last week at the Legislature about the Vatican rules.

Spokesman Patrick Downes said diocese guidelines require that police be called immediately, in accordance with state law.

One non-diocesan priest, the Rev. Allen DeLong, who as president of St. Louis School supervises the Marianist order priests, said civil law still must be followed by members of his order, and doubts that will change.

— Mary Kaye Ritz,
Religion & Ethics Writer

Divinity school proposed for UH

University of Hawai'i president Evan Dobelle is advocating expanding the small religion department at Hawai'i's state university into a full divinity school, with the idea that it could become a major non-secular resource for religious studies in the United States and Asia.

He envisions a school that could have the stature of divinity schools at top private universities such as Yale and Harvard.

— Associated Press