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Distressing is the first reaction to the
third audit measuring how well U.S.
dioceses have implemented provisions
of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People. This audit
raises questions for two reasons: The
rate of full compliance actually went
down, and one diocese and one eparchy
refused to participate.
The audit covers the year 2005 and
was released March 30, 2006, by the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, its
Office of Child and Youth Protection
and the National Review Board. The
Gavin Group of Boston (a firm independent
of the bishops) surveyed U.S.
dioceses, Eastern-rite eparchies and religious
orders for compliance with the
provisions of the Charter.
The audit showed that participating
dioceses and eparchies in full compliance
dropped from 95 percent in 2004
to 88.5 percent in 2005.
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 Standards Tightened
The CARA (Center for Applied Research
in the Apostolate) survey included with
the National Review Board report
revealed what many had suspected:
2005 was a record year for Church payments
for sex-abuse cases (dioceses/eparchies paid $455,686,548 and religious
institutes $21,246,924). Most of
this money went to those abused,
although a fraction went for therapy for
victims, support for offenders, attorney
fees and other costs. (More money
went to attorneys than for victim therapy.)
On the good side, fewer allegations
surfaced last year (690 as opposed to
889 in 2004) and 5,760,333 children
have now had some safe-environment
training. As of 2005, 94.8 percent of
children in Church schools and agencies
have been through such a program.
One reason for the lower rates of
compliance with the Charter’s provisions
is that the standards have been
tightened. In 2003 and 2004, dioceses
were credited for having plans for “safe-environment
training.” Now compliance
requires that the training has been
completed.
Twenty-one dioceses were judged
noncompliant for training of Church
staff and volunteers who have regular
contact with children.
The same tightening of standards
happened with another Charter provision:
background checks on all employees
and volunteers. Five dioceses have
not yet completed background checks.
Granted that the number of those
trained and background-checked
already is over seven million, it is understandable
that there is not 100-percent
compliance yet.
Missing From the Picture
The Archdiocese of New Orleans and
the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas, were
excused from participating in the 2005
audit because of the devastating damage
they suffered last August and September
from Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, respectively. That’s understandable.
But the absence of the Diocese of Lincoln,
Nebraska, and the Melkite Eparchy
of Newton, Massachusetts, is not.
Bishop Fabian L. Bruskewitz explained
Lincoln’s nonparticipation by
saying that the Charter is “only an advisory
document” and “not a law of the
Catholic Church.” This is technically
true, but the issue of clergy sex-abuse is
not the place to argue this point.
Cyrille S. Bustros, the new eparch of
Newton who took over in August 2004,
has not explained why he did not
participate.
Apply a Little Fraternal Correction
The National Review Board was created
by the bishops in 2002 to review
the annual report from the Office
of Child and Youth Protection and
make recommendations based on it.
This group of 13 eminent laypeople—judges, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists
and educators—now calls for “strong
fraternal correction” of the two bishops
who chose not to participate.
The term “fraternal correction”
comes from Matthew 18:15-20 where
Jesus explains how to deal with a
brother who sins against you: First,
meet with the person; if that doesn’t
work, take two or three witnesses; if
that doesn’t work, take it to the whole
Church; if that is unsuccessful, “then
treat him as you would a gentile or a
tax collector.”
The nonparticipation of two bishops
in the audits is not a “sin” per se,
but the credibility of all the bishops is
at stake here. “...[T]heir refusals go
against all of the efforts for the Church
to be open and transparent in addressing
child protection and reaching out
to victims to help with their healing,”
said National Review Board chairwoman
Patricia O’Donnell Ewers.
When the Charter was adopted four
years ago, many people thought the
bishops as a group finally understood
the extent and gravity of the clergy sexabuse
crisis. In November 2002, the
bishops pledged to respond to the
demands of the Charter “in a way that
manifests our accountability to God,
to God’s people and to one another.”
They vowed to work “within each of
our provinces, as an expression of collegiality,
including fraternal support,
fraternal challenge and fraternal correction.”
This is no time to back off from that
commitment. Otherwise, the slogan
that accompanies this audit, “Promise
to Protect, Pledge to Heal,” will be
empty words.—B.B.
The audit report covering 2005 is available at www.usccb.org/ocyp/OCYP REPORT.pdf. The text of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People can be found at www.usccb.org/ocyp/charter.shtml.
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