Posted on 09/13/2002 10:19:53 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Promising zero tolerance for abusers, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan on Thursday accepted an advisory commission's final recommendations for how the archdiocese should handle sexual abuse of minors by priests.
"I accept this report with immense gratitude and with a real sense of urgent responsibility," Dolan said.
He called protecting children his top priority.
"Our policy is sound. Yes, our past implementation of it has at times not been effective. We will enforce the archdiocesan policy with vigor."
Dolan also announced that the archdiocese was working with community agencies, survivors of abuse, and victim advocates to hold listening sessions with victims Oct. 22 and 26 at the Midwest Express Center. Some will be open to the public.
Dolan and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba will attend.
Open cooperation on such issues by U.S. bishops with outside individuals and groups, especially with the often-outspoken Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has been rare.
The cooperation was underscored by the fact that Milwaukeean Peter Isely, a national SNAP board member and frequent critic of the church, and SNAP member Mark Salmon were allowed into the news conference at the Cousins Center. Isely asked questions, and Dolan spoke with the two afterward.
Despite some criticisms of the commission report, Isely termed the cooperative planning for the listening sessions "a terribly important first step" and publicly thanked the two bishops at the news conference.
"That is really the key. . . . Everybody has to be involved in the solution to this problem. If it's just the archdiocese, even if it's just victims and their families, it's not going to work," Isely said.
It also was reported at the news conference that former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge John Fiorenza, the independent adjudicator appointed by Sklba, is still reviewing one case of allegations against a priest that civil authorities opted not to prosecute. Naming of the 45 living and deceased priests accused of sexual abuse of minors in the archdiocese since 1929 won't unfold until later this fall, Sklba said.
Dolan said the commission's recommendations, many of which were implemented after it issued a preliminary report in April, bring the archdiocese in compliance with the new zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse that U.S. bishops adopted in Dallas in June.
Dolan also said he hoped by Oct. 15 to appoint a lay-led review board that will make recommendations on the fitness for ministry of priests who go through civil or archdiocesan judgment processes after being accused of sexual abuse. He also announced that the four-member commission, appointed by retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland, had agreed to reconvene a year from now to evaluate the archdiocese's performance.
The commission's final report differed only slightly from the preliminary version, said chairman Anthony Kuchan, a retired Marquette University psychology professor. It recommends more proactive efforts in identifying clergy psychological problems before destructive behavior occurs, it addresses the archdiocese's relationship with religious orders, and it includes a flow chart that details how allegations of sexual abuse should be handled in the future.
Other commission members include the Rev. Donald Hands, an Episcopal priest who is a psychologist-supervisor at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility; Sister Mary Howard Johnstone, a Sinsinawa Dominican nun, victim advocate and practicing Milwaukee attorney; and Art Derse, a physician and attorney who is the director of medical and legal affairs for the bioethics center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The commission recommends permanent removal from active ministry of any priest who sexually abuses a minor; immediate reporting of all allegations, past and present, to civil authorities; the hiring of outside agencies to field complaints and assist victims; and the establishment of an independent judgment process for cases not prosecuted criminally.
The commission also asks that religious orders provide documentation that no credible allegations exist against any of their priests before the archbishop authorizes them to perform public ministry here.
Such information has been provided for years, but it became clear at Thursday's news conference that it does not exist for all religious order priests who came into the archdiocese more than 10 years ago, and that such records have not been routinely updated once a priest gets authorization.
Archdiocesan Chancellor Barbara Anne Cusack said updated records were being requested from the religious orders.
Isely said firmer reporting and accountability requirements were needed for religious orders because they account for one-third to one-half of priests in U.S. dioceses. He also questioned how the commission report could mention that the archdiocese had performed well in its response to victims after evaluating only a few case files and without talking to or surveying victims. He said he knew of many victims who were displeased.
Asked afterward if other bishops had reached out to SNAP in similar ways, Dolan said he didn't know. "But I feel strongly about it. We're talking 'big tent' here. These people, they're my people. They're still Catholics, they're still believers. If they're hurting, we've got to respond."
Are bishops wary of SNAP?
"I get the impression that bishops appreciate what they are saying," Dolan said. "Sometimes they might bristle at the how of it."
Lina Juarbe, a healing center supervisor at Aurora Sinai Medical Center, has been overseeing planning for the listening sessions. Also participating have been groups such as Advocates of Ozaukee and the Waukesha Women's Center.
"I'm just filled with hope that we can create a better future," Juarbe said.
How refreshing! And I believe him.
Dolan is courageous here. SNAP is made up of victims who have YEARS of pain built up and they want to direct it at those responsible.
It will take some very strong men to let these people say what they have to say.
God Save America (Please)
I hope so, but I don't think that it is the first thing on his agenda.
I think that Dolan qualifies on that point. He is courageous, and he challenges us to be courageous, as well.
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