The CBCP recently announced having "approved in principle" the guidelines governing sexual misconduct of the clergy.

IS there a need for guidelines?

At this juncture, may I mention that on ordination, a priest commits himself to three vows: celibacy, obedience and poverty.

assuming that there aren't any existing (or at least, updated) guidelines on how to deal with sexual misconduct of a clergy member prior to the ones being proposed, then i guess it would be necessary. the Church must be consistent with itself in handling the situation. it must also impose its own specific sanctions to offenders, apart from any criminal/civil suit that may be filed in secular courts.

well, yes, a priest commits himself to celibacy,obedience and simplicity (at least for diocesan priests) but still, they remain human as they are. Lets not think they become saints after their ordination. having such guidlines would be of help in dealing with this reality.

The guidelines would not only serve as caveat for present and future offenders IN the service, but also to those intending to enter the religious life.

Similar to the Anti-Harassment Act, a public information campaign could be launched like posting the guidelines on churches' bulletin boards, for discussion in meetings among church-affiliated groups, the holding of seminars, among others.

indeed! its good to have that in the system, and i think CBCP is sincere in bringing this info to the masses, the people, i mean.

it just saddens me that there is a need for such in the first place. but on the other hand, it affirms all the more the human-ness of our priests. if they were not human, how else could they be able to relate to the human-ness of others. yung opening lines ni JP II sa Gaudium et Spes, the Joys and Sorrows...ought to be shared by all.

About those who are entering pa lang naman the "religious life", they ought to know what they are getting into. i mean, don't promise to be celibate, only to clamor for its abolition once in. di ba?

These guidelines probably refer to how to TREAT priests who have been involved in sexual misconduct. It's an important tool for those who have to deal with the matter after the fact. Vows serve a different purpose.

Guidelines. . .
i.e. how should they punished? if caught are they simply sent to another parish? do they let the entire community know about the incident, etc?

fyi, there was uproar in america when parishoners found out that it was a matter of policy by the church that they would hush up any incidents of sexual misconduct.

What concerns me is WHY did the priests commit acts of sexual misconduct in the first place? I hope there is an effort to find out---if only to prevent it those acts from happening again.

It's not just in the clergy... believe me... sexual misconduct should be addressed in terms of our society.

^
What's the right term, 'distractor' or 'distractionist'?