The brief statement today by the Vatican’s Press Office gave no indication what the conclusion may be, AP said. The question has received renewed attention after the clerical sex-abuse scandals in the United States.
The Vatican Press Office said the Congregation for Catholic Education has begun drafting the document, but it will not be published at least until next year, AP said.
The Holy See has already appointed a mixed commission of U.S. prelates and Vatican officials to revise the norms and charter passed by the American episcopal conference last June to deal with the scandals.
In a statement Monday, Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopal conference, said the work of the mixed commission «substantially confirms the decisions made» last June about the tougher norms.
The conference has posted a side-by-side look at some of the norms passed last June, and some of the proposed revisions. See www.nccbuscc.org/comm/compare.htm.
