"But given the nature of the problem of clergy sexual abuse of minors," the report says, "the realities of the culture today and the male-oriented atmosphere of the seminary, a more searching inquiry is necessary for a homosexually oriented man by those who decide whether he is suitable for the seminary and for ministry".
Cardinal Mahony implied that his successor's censure of him was unexpected and unwarranted: "Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors".
It may hardly seem fair for the Catholic Church to be singled out when the problem of clergy sexual abuse crosses denominational and faith lines.
The problem of clergy abuse was, he said, a product of an American society that "needs much prayer -- lest it lose its soul".
The quarrel was sparked by the problem of clergy who committed crimes; Becket supported the Church's position that all clergy, even those in minor orders, could be tried only in ecclesiastical courts.
He received over 40 surviving papal commissions and communications, some of which dealt with the problems of married clergy in his diocese.
"If some priest commits a crime," Mr. Chopko said, "the Holy See would say, 'That's not our problem, bishops, that's your problem.' The discipline of clergy remains the proper duty of the religious superiors, which means the bishop or the provincial of an order, not the Vatican.
Despite problems over the number and quality of clergy after the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and evidence of heresy in the fifteenth century, the Church in Scotland remained stable before the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
Despite problems over the number and quality of clergy after the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and some evidence of heresy in this period, the church in Scotland remained relatively stable before the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
But Archbishop Dolan also referred, if passingly, to "the scandal of clergy sexual abuse," a problem that has delivered devastating blows to the church's moral standing and financial ledger.
