US Bishops offer sex abuse proposal
America's Roman Catholic bishops offered a sex abuse policy that falls just short of zero tolerance for molesting priests.
The plan would bar abusers from parish work.
Under the plan, priests who molested children in the past or commit even a single act of abuse in the future would be ousted from the priesthood.
Some abusers could voluntarily withdraw from active ministry and work in a monastery or some other restricted setting.
The plan, hammered out since April and the subject of debate behind closed doors in Dallas on Thursday, was expected to be voted. If approved, parts of the plan would be sent to the Vatican for review.
The bishops would ask the Vatican to approve key parts of the plan so they would become binding law in the United States church, which has been rocked by allegations of priest abuse since January.
