By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk says the Catholic church's new policy on sexual misconduct is still tough enough to weed out abusive priests, despite recent changes made by the Vatican.

The archbishop said Monday he expects his fellow bishops to approve the revised policy this week during a meeting in Washington, D.C.

He said critics who contend the revised policy is a weak version of the bishops' original, "zero-tolerance" policy do not understand the changes made by the Vatican.

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"I think we got what we went for," said Archbishop Pilarczyk, who is attending the meeting in Washington. "Now we have the legal equipment we need to deal with these matters."

The original plan, approved in June at a bishops' conference in Dallas, allowed for greater input from lay people and gave bishops authority to swiftly oust guilty priests.

The revised plan calls for church tribunals to hear the cases of accused clerics and recommends that a preliminary investigation be conducted privately to protect the reputation of the accused priest.

Archbishop Pilarczyk said the revisions do not change the substance of the original policy, only the way in which cases are handled.

"There were a lot of loose ends and rough edges (in the original policy)," the archbishop said. "We did the best we could in Dallas, but we knew there would be some refinements. And that's what these are."

E-mail dhorn@enquirer.com

Bishops consider revised abuse policy