Washington - At the semi-annual meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Bishops overwhelmingly approved the recently proposed revisions to its application to the Holy See for changes in church law in the United States to provide for the protection of all children, for reaching out and supporting victims of abuse, and for dealing stringently with abusers in the church.
The "revised" application of the Vatican called Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests and Deacons, can now be found on the Web site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at http://www.usccb.org/comm/compare.htm
The Bishops adopted the revised "Essential Norms" by a vote of 246-7. They also overwhelmingly approved revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People to bring the Charter into accord with the revisions of the norms.
Once the revised norms have received the Holy See’s recognitio (approval), they will become particular law for all dioceses/eparchies in the United States.
The revised Charter is expected to be posted on the Conference Web site also, together with all statements and other documents which the Bishops adopted at their November 11-14 meeting in Washington.
Also approved were revisions to documents on domestic violence and Hispanic ministry, and a historic document on migration in concert with the Bishops Conference of Mexico. They also approved statements on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and on a potential conflict with Iraq.
The Department of Communica-tions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that streaming video of portions of the proceedings of the USCCB November meeting is available on the Conference Web site through January 3. "The streaming video project was undertaken to see how effectively Internet technology can provide an opportunity for the Bishops to communicate with the public directly as they deliberate on a wide range of issues facing Church and society," said Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, USCCB Secretary for Communications. The video in -cludes excerpts from presentations on the floor of the meeting, the full press conferences, and interviews with bishop participants. While this technology is not yet available to all, Msgr. Maniscalco expressed the hope that those who can make use of it - especially in Catholic high schools and colleges - will do so. To view the programs, log on to http://www.usccb.org and click on the "streaming video" link. Visitors can view segments using either RealPlayer or Windows Media technologies.