DALLAS MEETING: READ THE TEXT

A lot of people, Catholics among them, have already expressed their opinion about the U.S. bishops' new policy on sexual abuse of children, developed a week ago in Dallas. They commented on radio talk shows, through letters to newspapers and in parking-lot conversations after Masses last Sunday.

We wonder how many of those opinions -- pro and con -- were formed and set in cement without the person bothering to actually read the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

A legitimate question to ask people who praise or object to a book, TV show, movie or piece of legislation is this: "Have you read it?...Have you seen it?...Have you analyzed it?" Too many people base their reactions on what someone else said, a summary they read or just a vague "feeling" that was garnered through conversations at work or talk-show blather. The result tends to be a poorly defined and flawed opinion because those sources often can be misleading, misinformed and even malicious.

The charter, which is a complex document, appears on pages 14-15 this week (the complete version can be read at www.usccb.org). We hope that Catholics who express a point of view on it do so only after taking the required first step of reading, studying and understanding it for themselves.

(06-20-02)

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