Church lawyers from around the world will meet in Cincinnati next week to discuss the impact of the new sexual abuse policies adopted in June by Catholic bishops.

More than 500 canon lawyers, who are trained in the laws of the Catholic church, are expected to attend the four-day convention of the Canon Law Society.

The convention begins Monday at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza and features a panel discussion on Tuesday about the new abuse policies.

The lawyers' understanding of the new rules — and what those rules mean for churches and their congregations — is considered crucial because they will be called upon to interpret the policies for priests, bishops and church administrators.

“The question is, how are we going to do our job?” said the Rev. Patrick Lagges, spokesman for the Canon Law Society. “We're going to be talking about exactly what this means.”

The policies set new guidelines for dealing quickly with sexual abuse allegations and mandate tougher penalties for priests linked to abuse. The rules require that allegations be reported to authorities and abusive priests be removed from ministry.

Although Catholic bishops approved the new policies in June at their meeting in Dallas, there still is uncertainty about how the rules will be implemented in dioceses across the country.

The bishops also are awaiting final word from the Vatican on whether the Pope will approve the new policies, reject them or insist on some changes. A decision from Rome is expected before the end of the year.

Until then, canon lawyers are trying to prepare as best they can for change, whatever form it takes.

“It's anybody's guess as to what the final (policy) will be,” Father Lagges said. “But we'll look at what we have right now.”

The bishops approved the new policies after months of criticism over their handling of sexual abuse cases involving Catholic priests. Critics accused them of failing to protect children and, at times, choosing instead to protect abusive priests.

In Cincinnati, four priests have been suspended or have voluntarily taken leave because of misconduct allegations. Three of those priests have been accused of sexual misconduct.

Four other priests employed by the archdiocese have been linked to past abuse allegations, but Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk has refused to name them.

Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said the archbishop will deliver a keynote address at the convention on Monday.

E-mail dhorn@enquirer.com

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