Protecting God's Children:
A Welcome Success Story
By Marybeth Dillon-Butler

It took no arm-twisting to convince Maryjo Heitzman, pastoral minister at St. Mary's of Rockwood, to attend a four-hour workshop on the prevention of child sexual abuse.

"As Catholics, we need to know we are here as advocates for those who need us the most; children, our elderly, and those with mental issues. Just like Jesus walked with the disenfranchised and the children, we need to be there to protect the little ones," Heitzman said at a January workshop at her parish.

In an effort to ensure that no minor is sexually abused by church personnel, anyone who ministers, teaches, coaches or volunteers at a Catholic parish, school or agency in the Archdiocese of Detroit is being asked to go to a Protecting God's Children training session. Priests, deacons and pastoral staff were the first to undergo training last May.

The Protecting God's Children is component of the Virtus program, developed over the last five years by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group, a not-for-profit organization that provides risk control services to about one-third of the Catholic dioceses across the country. In 1988, the National Catholic board appointed an ad hoc committee to work with the nation's premier child sexual abuse experts to develop prevention and response programs.

"The goal is to protect children by creating a safe environment," said volunteer workshop facilitator Nancy Diehl, chief of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Trial Litigation Division. "Adults are going to create the safe environment by paying attention first to who's going to be able to work in the parish, and secondly, to make sure any program that's going on in the parish is monitored. An important part of the training involves alerting people to warning signs; the kinds of things abusers will do to get involved with kids," Diehl added.

Diehl – who started the child abuse unit (now called the Child and Family Abuse Bureau) in the prosecutor's office in 1986 – also serves on the Archdiocese Review Board, which studies allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy and makes recommendations to Cardinal Adam Maida.

A Time To Heal

Before hiring on with the archdiocese to conduct the workshops, co-presenter Mary Eckert taught at Catholic schools in Detroit and operated her own business-consulting firm for 18 years. "I see this as an opportunity to heal people within the Church," said Eckert, archdiocesan compliance coordinator.

"The Church is tackling an issue that has been shoved under the carpet in our society," added Eckert. "It's stepping up to the plate and saying, 'We are going to deal with this.' It gives us a tremendous opportunity to turn into something positive a problem that people – and not just Catholics – have been unwilling to discuss."

Attending the workshop at St. Mary's, were pastor Fr. Marc Gawronski as well as teachers, catechists, coaches, secretarial and maintenance staff, youth leaders, and lunch moms. Eckert and Diehl gave short talks, showed videos, launched discussion groups, and distributed written materials. Topics included the dangers and warning signs of abuse; case histories; ways to prevent abuse; and how to report suspected abuse.

Among the statistics presented: Research shows that one in 10-20 men and one in four-five women report having been sexually abused by an adult or adolescent before the age of 18. About 2 percent of priests have had a sexual encounter with minor. The majority of victims were teenage boys who were fondled.

"I found it difficult to hear the stories that are told (by victims and perpetrators) in the training," said Fr. Gawronski. "But afterward, I felt I understood so much more clearly the need to be proactive about protecting children from abuse." The training equips people to "protect children here, and in other situations as well," said Father.

Regaining Trust

Mike Shores, girls' varsity basketball coach at St. Mary's, also attended. "Being a male and coaching young girls, I thought it was especially prudent that I show up," said Shores, an Allen Park resident with two grown children. "If you volunteer, you have a responsibility to do everything you can to make yourself aware of issues; and above reproach. I think it should be mandatory from a risk management or liability point of view."

Unwillingness to talk about the sexual abuse of children is exactly what has made it so prevalent, added Shores. "If more people knew the warning signs, maybe we could stop these monsters. It's nice to see an organization with problems like this going above and beyond what is required, instead of just doing what's necessary to meet a standard," the coach said. "The Catholic Church is starting to regain some of the trust that has been lost. People are recognizing that the Church is taking public steps to make sure this doesn't happen again."

New Approach Empowering

Eckert estimates that given the diocese's 315 parishes and missions and 151 schools, about 20,000 people need to be trained. "By the end of April, we will have trained 5,000 of them," said Eckert. Assisting Eckert and Diehl are 26 volunteer facilitators. An additional 200 will be trained in the fall.

Diehl says she's "as pleased as I can be to be a part of this proactive program" for good reason. "I've been involved with this issue for a very long time," she said, "and there is no other program like this I'm aware of. The programs that are out there focus on the kid. That, we know, doesn't work. It doesn't work because the perpetrator is someone close to them.

"This program puts the shame and the blame where it belongs – on the abuser, not the child. This is a new approach, and it is going to have far-reaching affects," Diehl said.

"We've had overwhelming, wonderful response from the priests, teachers, principals, volunteers, catechists and coaches who've participated so far," added Diehl. "We're not only talking, but empowering these adults to make a difference. I think everyone appreciates it when they know what to do about it. It means that all these folks we are training are going to become part of the solution."

Students Still Need Nurturing

Kim Glynn, a Girl Scout leader at St. Mary's where her 8-year-old daughter attends school, said the workshop "really opens your eyes. Perpetrators are from all walks of life," Glynn said. "It doesn't matter what profession they are in. Only a small percentage of priests are involved in sexual abuse. And celibacy isn't the reason it happens."

Following the workshop, Gloria Gonzalez, a catechist with a grandchild at St. Mary's, echoed the sentiments of many.

"I thought I knew a lot, but this really opened my eyes. I talked to my daughters about it. They have children, and they would like to go. This is something every parent should hear," Gonzalez said. "They can learn a lot."

A mother of two young children, Marybeth Dillon-Butler participated in one of the archdiocesan safe environment training programs at her home parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Livonia.