By Tom Rachman, Associated Press, 05/17/02

| Complete coverage |  AG'S REPORT Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly released the results of a 16-month investigation into clergy sex abuse in the Boston archdiocese. Download report [PDF, 1.4 MB] (File requires Adobe Acrobat)  TODAY'S GLOBE A new leader reaches out 3 faces in crowd bound in hopeh At BC, students watch with awe O'Malley's homily reveals frank man Near cathedral, voices of protest 'Good priests' moved to tears Text of Archbishop O'Malley's homily Sandwiches, chips were bill of fare An angry protest, and prayers  GRAPHICS The moment of installation Viewer's guide Ceremony TV coverage  Processional O'Malley's vestments O'Malley's coat of arms Cathedral of the Holy Cross  REALVIDEO | NECN.com | Help with video | O'Malley to be installed today Great expectations of O'Malley Video clips require RealPlayer and Windows 98 or higher.  INTERACTIVE FEATURE An interactive timeline of the developing church crisis, featuring photos and audio.   View timeline  IN-DEPTH Boston's new archbishop Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley has been chosen to succeed Cardinal Law as leader of the archdiocese. Reaction to O'Malley appointment Accused priests are vindicated Three priests have been exonerated after being suspended from their posts over abuse allegations.  CARDINAL BERNARD LAW Coverage of his resignation Career timeline: Priest to cardinal Changing statements on abuse Coverage of his tenure in Boston Photos: Law through the years Boston.com readers' comments  CONTACT SPOTLIGHT If you have information on child abuse by priests, call (617) 929-3208 Or leave a confidential message at this number (617) 929-7483 The Spotlight Team e-mail address is spotlight@globe.com.

ROME -- Roman Catholic bishops should avoid telling congregations their parish priests sexually abused someone if the bishops believe the priests will not abuse again, a Vatican official said.

The Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda also said in an article to be published Saturday that church leaders have no legal or moral responsibilities if such abuse does occur.

The Vatican appeals court judge insisted church leaders must protect the "good name" of their priests and only a guilty cleric truly is responsible for his actions.

"From a canon law perspective, the bishop and the superior are neither morally nor judicially responsible for the acts committed by one of their clergy," said Ghirlanda, dean of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The article is in the influential Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, which often reflects Vatican thinking.

David Clohessy, national director of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said he found it disturbing that the article appeared to be contradicting Pope John Paul II's statement at last month's Vatican summit on sex abuse.

"It seems like the pope was very clear last month: there's no place in the ministry for these men -- none -- and it's a crime," Clohessy said. "Ever since, we've seen church leaders hemming and hawing and making exceptions."

The Vatican is struggling to deal with worldwide allegations of sexual abuse by priests.

Ghirlanda argued that a priest whose past acts of abuse were revealed to his congregation "would be totally discredited in front of his parochial community and in fact would be blocked from any effective pastoral action."

"If the bishop fears the priest could again commit a crime, then he must not entrust to the priest a parish, but must act in a different way."

However, Ghirlanda also said priests should not be forced to take psychological tests to assess the likelihood of their committing abuse.

"To our thinking, it's not admissible that the incriminated cleric be forced to undergo a psychological investigation to determine if his personality is inclined to commit the crimes in question," the article said.

American church officials are accused of covering up sexual misconduct by priests, in some cases by moving known abusers from job to job. The church has paid millions of dollars in damages to victims and faces numerous lawsuits.

Dozens of priests have been suspended or forced to resign. Many dioceses also are informing local prosecutors of prior abuse allegations against priests.

This week, a Baltimore priest was shot, allegedly by a man who claimed the priest abused him, while another priest accused of sexual abuse apparently committed suicide in Maryland.

The ongoing U.S. scandal prompted last month's extraordinary meeting at the Vatican between Pope John Paul II, 12 of the 13 American cardinals and some top American bishops. The clergymen chose not to set strict rules before a June 13-15 meeting of American bishops in Dallas.

Rules agreed on by the bishops in June will be passed back to the Vatican for ratification.

Ghirlanda, in an apparent reference to victims' civil suits against dioceses, also wrote that the relationship between senior church officials and their priests is not comparable to that of an employer and employee.

"The cleric doesn't 'work' for the bishop or for the superior, but is at the service of God," Ghirlanda wrote.

He also said church leaders confronted with cases of abuse should attempt to resolve the problem without going to the authorities.

"Only if these methods prove useless, the bishop and the superior may move ahead with the judicial process," Ghirlanda said.

He added, "The cleric's right of good name must be protected by the bishop and superior. Therefore any act that has public repercussions, undertaken by the bishop or superior in dealing with one of his clerics is legitimate only if the good of the community requires it and if the bishop and superior have reached moral certainty."