Policy changes in the Roman Catholic Church were explained and discussed in an open forum Monday night.

About 25 people gathered in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center, 2210 Lincoln Way, for a forum on sexual abuse in the church.

The “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” passed at the National Bishop’s conference in June, was explained by Joy Carroll, campus minister for St. Thomas Aquinas, and Father Ev Hemann, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The new charter outlines “what a diocese should do,” Hemann said. Most of the key points have been part of the four Iowa dioceses’ policies since at least the 1990s. Ames is in the far corner of the Dubuque Diocese.

Of the key points of the charter, the only new policy is the “zero tolerance” policy, Hemann said. The policy automatically dismissing any priest or deacon accused of sexual abuse has been practiced by the diocese since 1985, he said, but it is now put down on paper.

Hemann does not agree with “zero tolerance” for two reasons. One, he said, was on “gospel grounds,” the idea of forgiveness, “rather than [kicking] them out for one instance.”

The second reason he gave was if the person is not completely kicked out of the church, the church will have more responsibility and control over the person.

Hemann said he believes the church can “protect them from society better.”

Wilma Smith, an Ames retiree, disagreed. She and her husband feel so strongly about the sex scandals that they have not attended mass at St. Cecilia Church, 2900 Hoover Ave., for three months. She said she believes zero tolerance is the only answer.

“I’m not happy about it. I’m not proud of it,” Smith said. “I’m hurt.”

She said she feels especially strong about cases concerning children. “When it comes to children, I’m a fighter,” Smith said.

“There’s an empty feeling in our hearts,” she said.

Another requirement in the charter is to educate members of the parish to provide a “safe environment” for children.

The Dubuque Diocese has not yet done anything outside of the Catholic schools, Hemann said, but it plans to have education programs at all levels.

The charter requires “transparency” and open communication when sexual abuse does take place, Carroll said.