Today I am giving my blog space to my colleague, Bernard Nojadera, who directs the U.S. bishops' critical office that works with clergy sexual abuse of children.
With 2012, the Catholic Church looks back on a decade of learning about a problem which may be decades or centuries old: the sexual abuse of minors by those who would mentor them.
The crisis in the Church in the United States reached a head in 2002, when newspaper coverage nationwide highlighted the existence of this horrific crime and moral travesty. We now know that others, including some sports organizations and other groups where adults mentor youth, have yet to confront this crisis within their own ranks.
In the United States, the Catholic Church adopted a plan to address the issue, called the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. It has spent billions of dollars on settlements, safe environment education, and background checks to do all it can to prevent the abuse of children in its care. We have come to some understanding of how to address the problem, gaining knowledge that can benefit more than the Catholic Church.
Some of what we've learned:
- The guiding principle when confronting child sexual abuse is to remember that it is most of all about the person who was abused. It is not about the offender, the institution or anyone's reputation. It is about helping a child.
- People can learn. In the 10 years since establishment of the Charter we have moved from disbelief to action. We have learned that what once seemed unbelievable is, unfortunately, credible and must be faced. Training, reference checks and background evaluations now are a normal part of parish life to keep children safe. We recommend these steps for all who deal with youth.
- Sexual abuse of a minor is a sickness that can be contained through vigilance but will not disappear. Incidents of sexual abuse are still occurring in the one place that ought to be the safest place. We cannot let our guard down. The work is not finished.
- Critical situations impel people and institutions to change. We have seen the culture of our parishes and schools evolve. People now accept that child sexual abuse exists and are willing to help stop it from occurring. They no longer assume someone else will take care of it.
- Child sexual abuse is a reality society must confront. No institution is immune from it. Learning to respond to the victim of abuse is the first job of any institution, community or family.
- The court of public opinion holds institutional leaders to a high standard. Leaders who forgo an immediate and appropriate response to abuse of a child do so at their own peril. There is hardly any other issue which evokes such intolerance as not acting in the face of child sexual abuse.
- Parents are willing to step up and make sure parishes and schools are following policies and procedures to protect children. With this critical issue, few people reply, "I just don't have time to get involved."
- The task of protecting children can be shared. Clergy, employees, volunteers, parents and teachers realize that bystanders can be their allies in protecting children.
- Child sexual abuse is a hard topic to discuss, but training adults to protect children has given the topic a forum where the uncomfortable reality can be discussed.
- Victims of child sexual abuse can heal and live productive lives. Steps that help bring them toward healing include seriously listening to their stories and expressing profound sorrow for what they have endured. As awful as the experience has been for a person, there is hope, a gift of grace from a loving God.
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Bernard Nojadera is a deacon and head of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for the Protection of Children and Young People
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The fact is that The U.S. Council of Bishops has been under pressure to adopt tougher reporting guidelines and more appropriate punishments for both abusers and those who fail to report abusers. And guess what? They've failed to make even moderate changes to the current policies. (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/us/15bishops.html). In fact, the very clergyman appointed to oversee the investigation of clergy abuse in England was himself arrested for taking nude photos of 2-year-olds just months ago (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/christopher-jarvis-catholic-church-abuse-child-porn_n_1092622.html). No amount of damage control is going to change the fact that the Catholic Church is a morally bankrupt, criminal organization that has largely unacknowledged systemic problem of child rape.
Sister also cannot see any problem with the financial structure of the Catholic Church where only 10 dioceses out of 192 have acceptable accounting practices. Leakage of funds donated to the Church is a second scandal that is ignored. Money is given for church ministry but ends up in legal settlements, embezzled, and cash dropped in the pope's basket when they visit Rome. Schemes such as the John Paul II Center and the massive DVD mailing in Minnesota drains funds that could be used to assist the poor or young mothers who face abortion decisions. Sister refuses to acknowledge this problem. She is not very creditable.
Bishops repeatedly strain the gnats of language and jurisdiction to cloud the extent of sexual abuse in the church, and refuse to release church documents in order to keep the secrets.
For example, victims of religious order brothers, like Franciscans or Salesians, are excluded from their annual audits (1); as well as abuse by seminarians who did not go on to ordination (2).
Neither are technically clergy – an ordained priest or deacon – so apparently no need to count them.
In addition, the abuse of mentally handicapped victims, even by clergy, had been excluded, unless it began before the victim’s 18th birthday (3). That repulsive restriction was in effect until 17 months ago when the Vatican finally ruled a mentally handicapped adult should be considered like a minor (4).
According to Bishop-Accountability.org, the bishops have a list of 5,948 names of accused priests from their updated studies (5) but only about half those names are in the public domain. That secrecy denies survivors much healing.
Philosopher John Locke noted, “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” Are the thoughts of bishops not suspect?
Footnotes in subsequent comment boxes.
(1) http://www.usccb.org/search.cfm?site=newusccb&proxystylesheet=newusccb_frontend&q=OCYP+annual+report+2010&lang=eng
Click first entry:
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
... of Child and Youth Protection can be found at www.usccb.org/ ocyp/whoweare. shtml. ... 20 2010 Annual Report: Findings and Recommendations ...
Then click www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/2010-Annual-Report-on-the-Implementation-of-the-Charter-for-the-Protection-of-Children-and-Young-People.pdf - 2011-06-11 (URL does not work unless you are in USCCB website)
"OCYP Report 2010
Questionnaires for Dioceses and Eparchies
Appendix B, hard copy p.73, pdf p. 66, (77 of 93)
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS NOTE: Include any perpetrators who are or were ordained members of the clergy legitimately serving in or assigned to the diocese or eparchy at the time the credible allegation(s) was alleged to have occurred. Do not include clergy that are members of religious institutes as they will be reported by their religious institutes."
"Questionnaire for Religious Institutes
Appendix C, hard copy p. 75, pdf p. 68, (79 of 93)
“ALLEGED PERPETRATORS NOTE: Include any perpetrators who are or were ordained members of the religious clergy legitimately serving in or assigned to a diocese or eparchy or within the religious institute at the time the credible allegation(s) was alleged to have occurred. Include only clergy (NOT RELIGIOUS BROTHERS) that are members of religious institutes.”
Second comment - Footnote #1 with documentary back-up
Third comment - Footnotes #2-5
(2) http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/churchdocs/FinalSurvey.pdf p. 12 of 33, 5th paragraph
“Q2: Should seminarians be included? YES, but only those who are later ordained (make a notation as such)”
(3) http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/churchdocs/FinalSurvey.pdf p. 9 of 33, last question
“If the victim of abuse is biologically an adult, but mentally under the age of 18, should the allegation be included? NOT unless the abuse started when the individual was under the age of 18.”
(4) http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/07_08/2010_07_15_TheVaticano_NormaeDe.htm
“the delict against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue committed by a cleric with a minor below the age of eighteen years; in this case, a person who habitually lacks the use of reason is to be considered equivalent to a minor.”
(5) http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/USCCB_Yearly_Data_on_Accused_Priests.htm
“As of April 11, 2011, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has counted 5,948 clerics "not implausibly" and "credibly" accused in 1950-2010 of sexually abusing minors. The USCCB total omits allegations made in 2003.”
Now, especially as a result of Sandusky at Penn State and a few other high profile revelations the hierarchy cannot use the "this is an anti-Catholic attack" in response to the clarion call for more adequate legislation covering childhood sexual abuse - BY ANYONE.
Yet, Archbishop Charles Chaput and the PA Catholic Conference is steadfast in their opposition to much needed SOL reform even after the actions of Philadelphia hierarchy have been revealed in both the 2005 and 2011 Grand Jury Reports on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
What is being done in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a blueprint in poor management, missed opportunities and gross negligence.
The hierarchy's mantra remains "Do as I say not as I do," even as so many walk away from the institutional church.
What they should be doing is supporting both House Bills 832 & 878 so that sexual predators and their enablers can be exposed.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
- silence the childchildren, and threaten excommunication, as dictated by "crimen solicitattionas"
- lie to the congregation, as Cardinal Rigali did in 2011
- keep everyone silent (as they did in KC in 2011)
- mislead the police
- denigrate the victims (as Archbishop Dolan did in 2011 when a 16 yr old came forward)
- mock the victims (as the Catholic league did with thier crybaby cartoon yesterday)
This is today's Catholic church.