There is deep misunderstanding in the secular world about the Catholic Church in the United States—about its structure, about how it conducts business, and, most important, about the enormous task the church faces in addressing the problem of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
There also is skepticism among many lay people in the United States as to the effectiveness of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ national review board and the office of child and youth protection. These offices were created to ensure safe environments in church settings, to provide healing and reconciliation, to provide accountability, to create appropriate response mechanisms to victims and their families, and to prevent future acts from occurring.
Why are so many people skeptical? The victim-survivors are skeptical. For them it is a combination of abuse they suffered and the response, or lack of response, from the Church. It is the same for their families. Lay people are interested and concerned, but many have no confidence that any office created by the bishops will be independent of them. For some clergy members, there is concern that they have been tarred by a broad brush and are guilty by association. There are some clergy who blame the bishops for the problem and have no faith in their efforts to resolve it.
Similarly, some members of the media—including some who have covered the story for years—see no significant change in the way the crisis is being handled. More than a few attorneys point out that the national review board and office of child and youth protection have no legal authority within the Church.
But those of us involved in the national review board are not skeptical. We are optimistic as a result of the adoption by the bishops in June 2002 of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in Dallas, Texas. This was a defining moment for the Catholic Church in the United States, an unprecedented call for public accountability in several areas. The charter calls for audit mechanisms and public reporting of the implementation of the provisions of the charter.
In addition, the “Essential Norms,” which are primarily included within the charter, were approved as particular canon law for the United States. Another reason for optimism is the conduct of studies on both the nature and scope of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by members of the Catholic clergy and on the causes and context of this crisis.
I was surprised that many U.S. bishops did not know the extent of the sexual abuse problem. It is thought by some to be much more extensive that previously realized and thought by others to be less prevalent in the Church than in other aspects of society. I suspect also that a very small percentage of priests and deacons have offended. But no one knows for certain, and it doesn’t really matter: Even one instance of abuse is devastating, wrong, and irrevocable.
Some believe there was a second crisis—that is, the handling of cases of abuse and the responses of the involved hierarchy. In 1992, principles for handling these cases were established by the bishops’ conference. The principles were not always followed, and there was no accountability or consistency. Had the principles been followed, the problem today would be much less significant. We believe the new charter will work to protect children in the future if there is universal compliance with its procedures and fulfillment of the promises the bishops have made.
What has happened since June 2002, and why do we continue to be optimistic? In the last year an auditor has been selected and a schedule of audits completed, charter implementation workshops have been conducted for all bishops, diocesan review boards have been developed and victim assistance coordinators identified in each diocese and eparchy, and two hundred canon lawyers have been trained to address instances of abuse for appropriate canonical penalties.
The Office of Child and Youth Protection has a staff of three. The responsibilities of the office are to promote safe environments within dioceses and eparchies. This means establishing standards of conduct and education regarding identification, prevention, response, reporting, and healing. The office is responsible for the audits of all dioceses and eparchies for compliance with the charter—for example, ensuring that there is proper reporting of cases, establishment and adherence to sexual abuse policies, and transparent and open communications.
Upon completion of the audits, the office will issue an annual public report of the progress of each diocese. In order to conduct these audits objectively, a contract was made with an audit firm led by William Gavin of Boston, Massachusetts. From June through October this year, about fifty auditors who are experienced in compliance audits and interviewing as well as reporting, are visiting all 195 dioceses and eparchies.
While most auditors are Catholic, some are not. No auditor who is Catholic is allowed to work in his own diocese. It is important to note that the audits focus on the implementation of the charter, and the auditors do not reinvestigate cases of abuse.
The ongoing nature-and-scope study is being conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The John Jay College was selected because of its outstanding reputation and ability to conduct research. The study will obtain anonymous data regarding victims such as their age, gender, relationship to the offender, and the number of times they were abused. Information sought regarding offenders will include their age and history of abuse where known.
Each incident will be studied to determine where it occurred; if there were threats, bribes, or alcohol involved; and whether or not it was a single event. Information pertaining to the cost of settlements and therapy provided to victims, offender treatment, attorney fees, and insurance coverage will also be gathered.
It is extremely important to know the extent and characteristics of a problem in order to address it. Without its own data, others are telling the story for Church. Institutions like the Church should deliver their own news.
The other study to be commissioned by the national review board focuses on the causes and context of the crisis. For example, what is different about Catholic clergy, if anything, that caused these men to abuse children? The hypotheses and framework of this study will not be established until the nature-and-scope study is completed.
Other steps include the completion of training programs regarding the implementation of the charter, the conduct of all audits, and the preparation of the annual report. The report will be provided to the national review board for review and recommendations. It will then be provided to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Bishops, and to the public.
The nature-and-scope study will be completed this year, and the national review board will prepare the framework for the causes-and-context study and select researchers. Both the board and the office of child and youth protection will continue to identify ways in which to protect children in the church environment.
How will our progress be measured? By the reduction or elimination of cases of abuse through the audit mechanism and the resolution of litigation.
Skepticism can be healthy; it can force the bar to be raised on behavior and performance. But we hope that skepticism is balanced with open-mindedness and understanding that problems of this magnitude are not fixed overnight. It takes a concerted effort on the part of many. It requires openness and transparency and a commitment to fulfill the pastoral promises of the charter. Most important, it will take unlimited caring and concern for victim-survivors and their families and every effort possible to heal and to reunite them with the Church.