Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Officials see progress in Church response to abuse
Officials see progress in Church response to abuse
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 21, 2007
Detroit - A national report calling the Church's response to the clergy sex abuse crisis "impressive," but also that its "work is only beginning," met with basic agreement from Michigan Church officials involved in the child protection efforts.
The five-year report on the crisis was released Dec. 13 by the National Review Board, the lay group that oversees the U.S. Catholic bishops' compliance with child protection policies.
"I think we're in pretty good shape, as far as the Archdiocese of Detroit is concerned, but we can always benefit from further discussion," said Judge Michael Talbot, of the state Court of Appeals, who chairs the Archdiocesan Review Board.
He especially cited a recommendation that audit procedures should be expanded to include ways to measure the quality of child protection programs.
"I think it would be great if we could do that. We have asked the (National Review Board) office if they have any model we could go by, and five years into it, they still don't," Talbot said.
That situation forced the archdiocese to develop its own, he continued. "Now, our written policy is being looked at by other dioceses, so I think we're ahead of the curve," Talbot said.
Mary Eckert, director of the archdiocesan Office for Safe Environments, said about 40,000 people have gone through the training programs designed to ensure child safety. All clergy and Catholic school teachers have taken it, as well as most catechists and other parish personnel, and many parent volunteers.
The report said Church officials must do a better job of:
- Providing victims with the help they need.
- Helping Catholics at the parish level understand how best to respond to victims and their families.
- Providing "protection and restoration" for priests accused of abuse who are later found innocent.
- Speedily investigating and responding to abuse allegations.
The report gave high marks to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' audit process, which monitors how dioceses are complying with the Church's national standards for child protection programs, prevention of sexual abuse and response to abuse allegations.
"Those audits provide substantial evidence of the bishops' efforts to protect children and respond to the abuses of the past and present," the report said. It noted that, as of 2006, 98 percent of dioceses and eparchies — the name for dioceses in the Eastern Catholic Churches — have participated in the audits and have been found to be in full compliance.
The report said the audits have been published by the USCCB in annual reports in an "effort to maintain transparency."
Although the review board commended the audit process, it also said the audits were not enough and suggested that they be expanded to measure the "quality of the work that the dioceses and parishes are doing." To that end, the report recommended that the USCCB conduct random audits of parishes which could help establish "best practices in educational programs, victim care, background checks and investigation of allegations."
Grand Rapids Bishop Walter Hurley, who formerly oversaw clergy sex abuse policies for the Detroit Archdiocese when he was an auxiliary bishop here, said the report shows that "great efforts and progress have been made in child protection, but ongoing work stills needs to be done to protect our children."
He pointed out, however, that the report also makes it clear that the problem of the sexual abuse of children "is not unique to the Church, but is a societal issue that needs to be addressed."
In its section on the Church's accomplishments, the report noted that more than 6 million children have participated in education programs and 1.6 million background investigations have taken place as part of diocesan safe-environment programs. It also said dioceses have established procedures to respond promptly to abuse allegations.
The review board stressed that educational programs and response procedures "cannot ensure that abuse will not take place" but can make certain that abuse is "less likely to occur" and will also address the needs of victims and their families.
The report also mentioned two studies on clerical sexual abuse commissioned by the U.S. bishops in their "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."
The studies were conducted by the New York-based John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The first study, completed in 2004, looked at the nature and scope of the abuse crisis in the Church. The second study, set for completion in 2009, will look at the causes and context of clerical sexual abuse.
The review board said it hoped the results of the ongoing study would provide "needed insights and recommendations."
In citing future challenges the Church will face as it continues to respond to the abuse crisis, the report said some issues are "not easily resolved" because they are so complex.
"One of the most significant issues is the need for greater understanding of victimization and its consequences," the report said. "Discussions with victims provide evidence of serious needs that still need to be addressed in order for victims and their families to find the healing that they need."
Another challenge highlighted in the report is the relationship of the Church to its priests, "the vast majority of whom," it pointed out, "are not involved in scandal, but many of whom feel alienated from both the bishops and the laity." The report also stressed that the Church needs to "provide appropriate protection and restoration for those accused but later found innocent."
The report called for "greater speed in the process of determining credibility of allegations and consequent responses, as well as determination of an appropriate role for the Church in the supervision of offenders."
Carol Zimmermann of Catholic News Service contributed to this story.
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