Courageous Conversation Explores Accountability for Bishops Under Vos Estis
Last week, Awake welcomed two respected observers of the Catholic Church to consider the first five years of Vos Estis Lux Mundi, a papal decree that created new church laws and procedures for reporting and investigating sexual abuse by church leaders. The guests were JD Flynn, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Pillar, which provides news and analysis of the Catholic Church, and Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability.org, an extensive archive of information about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Awake Executive Director Sara Larson moderated the information-packed discussion. In case you missed it, a recording of the event is available below.
The Good and Bad of Vos Estis
JD Flynn, editor-in-chief of The Pillar
As the conversation began, Flynn described Vos Estis as “a procedural policy guide, a manual which Pope Francis published in 2019, which aimed at setting criteria for investigating allegations of either abuse or administrative negligence,” which he explained as “failing to act when action was needed on the part of bishops and other leadership figures in the Church.” These new Church laws were a result of the “extraordinary outcry” by Catholics in the aftermath of multiple abuse revelations, including those related to former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from ministry and the College of Cardinals and then laicized based on evidence that he had abused seminarians and children.
When asked about the positives of Vos Estis, Barrett Doyle noted that it requires all priests and religious sisters and brothers to report abuse, and outlines how information about abuse is supposed to flow to the Vatican. “Incredibly, this information flow hadn’t been clearly articulated before,” she said. Vos Estis also broadens the definition of a vulnerable person, states that whistleblowers in the Church must be protected, and prohibits the silencing of victims or others who make abuse reports.
As for the ways Vos Estis falls short, Barrett Doyle spoke about the lack of transparency and lay oversight. “I really see Vos Estis not so much as a step toward accountability, but in ensuring that accountability wouldn’t happen,” she says. “It has all the defects of the old process. It’s insular, it’s secretive, and it’s rife with conflict of interest.”
Flynn agreed with Barrett Doyle’s criticisms, but added that Vos Estis declares that the Church is, at least in theory, opposed to episcopal abuse and misconduct, the abuse of adults, and coverup. The promulgation of Vos Estis suggests that “we take those things seriously enough that we’re going to criminalize them,” he said. “What’s bad is that Vos Estis has not, especially in the United States, been applied with transparency. And so something which was rolled out with a promise of transparency has been applied in secret.”
Still, Flynn said he believes Vos Estis is evidence of changing church culture. “I do think that we can look at Vos Estis, look at the expectations it sets, look at the way that many young clerics and lay people who work in the Church take that seriously and think, okay, that points to a cultural shift that will come over a period of time. The hard part is that it takes a period of time.”
Real World Examples
Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org
The speakers described several Vos Estis investigations of U.S. bishops, discussing the ways these processes appeared to succeed or fall short. For example, Flynn talked through what is known about the investigation of the former Archbishop of St. Paul & Minneapolis, John Nienstedt, who “resigned under suspicious circumstances” in 2015 after allegations of personal misconduct and cover up. The Vatican announced this January that it had concluded a Vos Estis investigation of Nienstedt, led by officials outside of the archdiocese. The announcement stated that Nienstedt “would not face a canonical crime, but he had acted imprudently and therefore he was forbidden from ministry in his province,” Flynn explained. He was also forbidden from living in his former archdiocese.
“This pointed to both the strengths and flaws of Vos Estis,” Flynn said. The strengths: A person who faced accusations was investigated, and a person “outside of his own immediate ecclesiastical orbit” conducted the investigation. The investigation appeared to be detailed, based on the specificity of its findings. As for weaknesses, Flynn said that “we got a very limited bit of information that doesn’t help … potential victims of Archbishop Nienstedt … to feel like they could come forward in confidence.” This “doesn't help the Church,” he added.
The result was “an ambiguous announcement, but not transparency,” he said. “There were restrictions, there were some decisions, but not enough information. We know that transparency both helps to deter people from bad behavior and helps to encourage victims to come forward.”
Barrett Doyle also cited examples in European dioceses that show Vos Estis is being applied unevenly. “There’s just no rhyme or reason” as to which bishops are “being sanctioned and who isn’t,” she said, adding that penalties against bishops are often too light.
The Conversation Continues. Please Join Us!
Don’t miss Part 2 of this Courageous Conversation, 7 pm Central on Thursday, May 9. Attendees will break into small groups to discuss the ideas shared by the panelists in Part 1. This is our final Courageous Conversation event of the 2023-24 season! To join us, please complete the registration for Part 2 and watch the video recording before you attend. See you on Thursday!
The Weaponization of Sexual Abuse
Flynn said he believes one reason Vos Estis has not been well-implemented “is the weaponization of sexual abuse for ideological purposes.” Catholics on either side of an ideological spectrum are often willing to push for investigations of leaders on the opposite side. “If we’ve learned anything about abuse, it’s that it knows no ideological bounds,” Flynn said, “and we have to be committed to looking at the people we agree with, with eyes as wide open and maybe even more wide open than we’re willing to look at the people we disagree with. Protection of people on this team or that team … has prevented, I think, a good implementation of Vos Estis in a lot of cases.”
Sources of Hope
When Larson asked the speakers if they saw any signs of hope regarding accountability for bishops, Barrett Doyle responded positively.
“Despite feeling pretty negative about Vos Estis Lux Mundi, I have lots of hope,” she said. “I’m even optimistic. I just have an indefensible conviction that the Church is eventually going to get it right. And I really want it to.” She highlighted the emergence of diocesan whistleblowers, including Fr. Brent Shelton of the Diocese of Knoxville, who was in the audience for this event. Shelton filed a Vos Estis complaint against his bishop, Richard Stika, for obstructing sexual abuse investigations. The complaint contributed to Stitka’s resignation last June. “[Shelton’s] courage has been mind-blowing,” Barrett Doyle said, adding that reporting by Flynn at The Pillar also helped bring about the resignation.
Survivors in the Awake audience asked the speakers for guidance about filing Vos Estis reports. Both recommended that anyone submitting paperwork to the Catholic Bishops Abuse Reporting Network, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ reporting portal found at reportbishopabuse.org, also share copies of their reports with The Pillar (jdflynn@pillarcatholic.com) and BishopAccountability.org (staff@bishop-accountability.org). This would allow the information to be shared and preserved, which is important because many people who have filed reports never hear back. “I think it is good when people speak with the media and speak publicly and allow these things to be investigated and brought forward,” Flynn said. Barrett Doyle also encouraged people to consider telling local news reporters about their Vos Estis filing, or to write a letter to the editor at a local paper. “You’ve got to make it public at the same time,” she said. “That’s how you get a response.”
Near the end of the event, both Barrett Doyle and Flynn spoke eloquently about how they balance a healthy skepticism of church leaders with their faith. “I am fundamentally grateful to this Church,” Barrett Doyle said. “I can trace just about everything beautiful in my life to the Catholic Church.” She also spoke about the “privilege” of working alongside people working hard to change the Church. “How can I despair when they are fighting … to make the Church more lawful, more honest, more compassionate?” she asked.
Flynn also raised the importance of “avoiding the idea that being faithful Catholics means always being deferential Catholics,” he said. “If we can … realize that God is working in us, speaking in us, and sanctifying us and empowering us by virtue of our baptism and confirmation, then we can begin to do a lot of good in the Church on this front.”
—Erin O’Donnell, Editor, Awake Blog
