Accountability of Diocesan Bishops: A Significant Aspect of Ecclesial Communion

The bishops of the United States have openly acknowledged the need for accountability in the Catholic Church. For example, in the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” the bishops unequiv ocally state, “We pledge ourselves to act in a way that manifests our ac countability to God, to his people and to one another in this grave mat ter.”1 Further, after their November 2002 meeting in Washington, D.C. the bishops issued “A Statement of Episcopal Commitment” in which they reiterated this commitment from the perspective of their “episcopal communion and fraternal solidarity, a moral responsibility we have with and for each other.”2 In addition, the first report from the National Re view Board contains the important statement: “the exercise of authority without accountability is not servant leadership; it is tyranny.”3