My action items for the US bishops’ meeting

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 09, 2020

The McCarrick Report challenges the US bishops to think big during their November meeting. The following agenda would be the first step in demonstrating they are serious in ensuring that policies, procedures, and protocols are put into place to—as James Martin, SJ promises, echoing the bishops themselves—“prevent this from ever happening again.”

We suggest the USCCB establish a permanent standing committee of bishops, lawyers, insurance executives, and major lay benefactors to fine-tune these strategic goals in detail, provide workshop modules for clergy and Church staff, and monitor ongoing progress.

Action Items for the November Meeting

1. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent the worship of false gods from ever happening again.
2. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent taking the Lord’s name in vain from ever happening again.
3. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent desecrating the Sabbath from ever happening again.
4. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent dishonoring parents from ever happening again.
5. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent murder from ever happening again.
6. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent adultery from ever happening again.
7. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent stealing from ever happening again.
8. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent false witness from ever happening again.
9. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent coveting a neighbor’s wife from ever happening again.
10. Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent coveting the goods of one’s neighbor from ever happening again.

Alternative Agenda

Action Item #1: Establish policies, procedures, and protocols to prevent the establishment of policies, procedures, and protocols from ever happening again.