A Proposed World Wide Registry for Catholic Clergy Predators

Recently, the Boston Archdiocese released a list of accused clergy.

A good first step. A move in the right direction. But also mind-boggling is the number of Catholic clergy predators in one town.

Hopefully, one day soon, we'll see more lists from all around the United States, the world. Even better would be if the Church would create one world-wide database that lists all of the accused clergy sex offenders, both living and dead.

This world-wide registry, a clergy predator site, provided by the Catholic Church and similar to the United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Registry, would be available to the general public, assist law enforcement, give a much-needed tool to parents and communities, and provide awareness and child safety to the general populace, as well as providing the relocation information of Catholic clergy predators into unsuspecting communities.

Healing requires revealing. With the world-wide Catholic Church sex abuse scandal seemingly endemic in the Church, one wonders what screening processes the Church has put in place to insure the safety of vulnerable children and adults.

By "screening process" I mean to include the weeding out of the bad apples before they have the opportunity to become clergy. This would require the Church to hire an outside agency to conduct the background checks, and conduct the tests and report whether the applicant is or is not suitable.

In today's world, many organizations conduct thorough background checks on their applicants, including using polygraphs and drug tests, a wise move since the organization will be making a large investment in every employee.

Pre-employment screening must include interviewing the references the applicant provides, and also interviewing former teachers, neighbors and employers. What we know is that the current policies of the Church are not working. Their policies seem to allow only confirmation of employment or school attendance dates, and that's why it's all the more important to conduct thorough background checks.

I plead to the Catholic Church to keep moving in the right direction by revealing the names of predator clergy, as the Boston Archdiocese has done.

I also plead to the Church to start a registry and disclose their current screening steps to insure that history never repeats itself, so that in the future no child will ever have to suffer at the hands of those who have been placed in this most sacred and trusted position.

 

 

 

Follow Kim Michele Richardson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KimMRichardson

Comments

[rcro]

12:35 PM on 09/17/2011

This has been going on for more than 2000 years. There was a time when boys were used for sex by soldiers and others because they did not want their wives or mistresses impregnated by persons other than themselves. Most Catholic mothers know her boys will be used by the local; priest and welcomes it as a means of introducing them to sex. That does not make Catholic males homosexuals. It wasn't until the puritans, holy rollers and money getting lawyers got into the act that there was any problem. In all areas heavily populated by Catholics, homosexuality is common and same sex marriages are promoted.

The problem is that some priests are too forceful. They should be careful to select only those whom they are certain are willing or eager to participate because some boys can and are traumatized by such acts. The traditions of the church throughout the millenium cannot be stopped. We all need to accept the truth keep and keep an open mind about these things.

[juna]

10:41 PM on 10/18/2011

I cannot "keep an open mind" about the sexual abuse of children. Some things are wrong, no matter what the era, and this is one of them.

[Indigo1941]

06:33 AM on 09/17/2011

What happens to false accusers?

[Andrew Brennan]

04:39 AM on 09/17/2011

A list naming the bishops, religious superiors, archbishops & cardinals who covered up child abuse would be more telling. So many children could have been saved a world of hurt if those people who were, after all, in authority over offending clergy had called in the civil authorities. Here in Ireland the Cardinal Primate of All Ireland Sean Brady swore two children to secrecy - Oathe of Secrecy:> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_DI8_yPQM -these children had been abused by Fr. Brendan Smyth who raped children in America, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, and the island of Ireland - after the two children were sworn to secrecy Fr. Brendan Smyth continued to abuse children for another 28 years.

[goatboyphd]

07:50 PM on 09/16/2011

I use t Bishop Accountabiltiy regularly.

The information cuts both ways.

In the 11 New Engand Diocese the number of new incidents stemming from activity in the last 11 years (since Jan. 2000) is under 15.

Given there are 1,400 parish churches in the 11 NE diocese that's a far cry from the scandal years.

Internet and computer misuse make up half the charfges. Young women 14 to 17 make up 25% of the charges and young adult men make up most of the rest.

It's common now for a priest to have 'a single victim and to be reported after a couple incidents if not the first incident with a victim.

The non-reason for a Catholic Registry: Going forward from 2000 it would be a subset of the National Registry anyway.

In cases where charges aren't filed but a priest broke protocol and was let go there are privacy concerns. Without civil legislation those names can't be legally outed. In cases where a priest complies with civivl law and the charges are wiped clean after two years there are similar concerns

I find many solutions to be solutions that look backwards rather than forward. What needs to happen going forward is an emphasis on timely reporting and quick civiil action and registration on the NationalRegistry where it applies. Education is the key--alerting children and parents to the early warning signs of abuse and procedures for rapid reporting. We need to change the culture of abuse and victimhood.

[MrHomerS]

02:15 PM on 09/16/2011

As someone who has been falsely accused of wrongdoing, I am sympathetic to the fact that an accusation does not equate guilt. There are lots of reasons that people make false accusations, the primary one being revenge for a real or a perceived slight.

Could you imagine a list of "accused rapists" being made public, instead of convicted rapists? There is a big difference between the two.

[CMB1969]

01:54 PM on 09/16/2011

There is definitely too much hysteria going around on with this issue. Sorry, the concept of a private organization (even one as large as the Catholic Church) publically releasing a list of people who have been "accused" of offenses of such an inflamatory nature just sounds scary. Remember that A. the National Sex Offender Registry is publicly managed, and B. it lists people who have been found guilty of such charges in a court of law.

[skeptic406]

01:28 PM on 09/16/2011

Are you sure potential priests do not go through thorough background checks? I belong to a different denomination but in our case, every single candidate must undergo background checks and psychological evaluation before beginning seminary as well as continual observational evaluations during seminary. And then we have a zero-tolerance policy and requirement to inform law enforcement.

[MrHomerS]

02:09 PM on 09/16/2011

They do. I was kind of surprised to see that the author is unfamiliar with the psychological testing, etc. that seminarians undergo, background checks, etc. Most of the abusive priests were formed before these checks were implemented.

Still, the main cause of the scandal is not the abusive priests per se, but the bishops who were more concerned about appearances than with a child's safety. I suspect that the psychological makeup of the current crop of bishops is even worse than the one that shuffled priests around.

[Klarsonent]

11:19 AM on 09/16/2011

Thank you, Kim Richardson, for an excellent article.

[Noble9]

11:06 AM on 09/16/2011

Don't convicted sex offenders need to go door to door and tell people they're criminals when they move into a new neighborhood? Would be kind of disturbing if a priest showed up at your door, though that might be exactly the kind of thing that's needed. As long as they're sheltered and not held accountable for their crimes why would they ever have any incentive to stop?

[writerjohnny]

05:15 AM on 09/16/2011

We don't need a registry. Pretty much every priest participated in covering up child torture probably for hundreds of years right up through all the bishops and cardinals and popeys. Any guy wearing one of those robes should be shunned and we should definitely err on the side of keeping children safe. The vatican is a cesspool of greed, perversion and secrets and it's too damn bad that Hanks was able to stop the mad priest bomber in that Code movie.

[Klarsonent]

11:23 AM on 09/16/2011

Your comment, "Pretty much every priest participated . . ." is obtuse. There are good priests and nuns. There are good people in every religion. Let's not put them all in one bag.

[writerjohnny]

06:12 PM on 09/16/2011

From top to bottom the abuse and torture was widespread and well known. Every single one of the "good people" should have been screaming from every street corner but they didn't. Accessories to crime at the very least. Accomplices in many cases and those at the top should be charged under RICO laws the way other organized criminals are.

[aresponse2dotcom]

09:59 PM on 09/15/2011

Nice to single out Catholic Priests. I am quite sure if you were to spend the time to do a true checking of factual data you would find that predators exist in all religious clerical groups.

[writerjohnny]

05:18 AM on 09/16/2011

I am quite sure if you were to spend the time to do a true checking of factual data you could write your own scathing blog regarding Buddhist Monks and their abuse and torture of children. Please have at it.

[MrHomerS]

02:11 PM on 09/16/2011

You do know that there have been abuse scandals involving Buddhist monks, right?

[Survivor Girl]

07:14 AM on 09/16/2011

All too true. People assume this is strictly a Catholic problem, but the facts prove that this is an issue in every denomination and in every religious group, and more female adults are victimized than children. The statistics are shocking. This is a power play for the clergy involved and an abuse of fiduciary responsibility. Problem is, most news media shine the light on what's happened(ing) in Catholicism, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. I can't figure out why more press isn't given to "the rest of the story."

[ParadoxHarbinger]

11:29 AM on 09/16/2011

just guess here, but it is probably down to catholic church being the largest of those groups.

[vaquero1]

06:43 PM on 09/15/2011

Also, it goes without saying, a psychological test along with the screening process is imperative.

Thanks, Ms. Richardson.

[vaquero1]

06:35 PM on 09/15/2011

As Ms. Richardson said the numbers are staggering for one city. I would hate to guess what the world wide numbers actually are. Though there is a Bishop accountability website, it is not world known, and only discloses those predators that they are aware of, not the perps that are hidden deep within the Catholic files. This is a good educational site, however a more in depth registry that is global like the NSOR, with ALL the names of accused clergy both dead and alive with their current residency would be ideal. Only the Catholic church can provide that. I'd also liked to know what the Catholic church has done to screen possible future priests so that this hideous crime against humanity won't occur again.

[AntithiChrist]

05:24 PM on 09/15/2011

A great resource. Includes an abuse tracker.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/

Spread the good word.

[Survivor Girl]

04:26 PM on 09/15/2011

So much of the focus is on underage victims, as it should be, but I'm living proof that adults are also abused by clergy at alarming rates. Per a study on clergy sexual abuse and misconduct complied by Diana Garland at Baylor University, 1 in 30 adult women who regularly attend church have been victims of CSM. See http://www.baylor.edu/clergysexualmisconduct/.

Word must get out that this is not simply a crime where children are the sole victims. The only way to stop CSA/CSM is to educate congregations and make the world-wide registry of accused clergy available to everyone. This nightmare thrives in secrecy.

The organization that helped me out of the darkness is www.thehopeofsurvivors.org. Check it out and tell a friend.