NEWSFEED: Winter 2019–2020

STEPS TOWARD HEALING

AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER 2019, Judge Barbara Jones issued her much-anticipated report on the Archdiocese of New York’s response to the crisis of clergy sex abuse. Appointed by Cardinal Dolan in the fall of 2018 as an independent reviewer and special counsel, Judge Jones and her team spent a year conducting an exhaustive review of the archdiocese’s child-protection practices and examining procedures for responding to allegations of past abuse. The report shows an institution on a path toward healing.
 

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Amid the many media stories about child sexual abuse in the Church, one important detail often goes unremarked: the fact that clergy sexual abuse in the current context has become a rare occurrence in the Archdiocese of New York. Judge Jones’s report notes that, since 2002 – when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People – there have been two substantiated allegations against priests in the archdiocese. The horrific era of predatory betrayal by a small but significant number of clerics, too often abetted by supervisors who failed to hold them accountable for their crimes, is now largely a thing of the past.

Keeping it that way requires constant vigilance and the strict adherence to policies that grew out of the charter. “The Archdiocese’s Safe Environment Office plays a crucial role in ensuring that children are safe in Archdiocesan schools, parishes, and programs,” the judge wrote in the report’s summary. “The Office promulgates a code of conduct for any adult interacting with children in an Archdiocese institution. It monitors more than 30,000 employees and volunteers and conducts criminal background checks and trainings before any employee or volunteer can begin working with children.”

In addition to the efforts of the Safe Environment Office, the Priest Personnel Office maintains extensive records on every archdiocesan priest and requires priests from outside the archdiocese to present certification from their home diocese or religious order before being allowed to minister in the Archdiocese of New York.

The judge, with a team of lawyers, “reviewed the personnel files for every priest and deacon in the Archdiocese and confirmed that no Archdiocesan priest or deacon against whom there is a substantiated complaint of abuse of a minor is in ministry today.”
 

DOING JUSTICE

While it’s critically important to prevent further cases of abuse, it is equally essential to recognize the harm suffered by victim-survivors. Whenever someone steps forward to report abuse, no matter how long ago it may have occurred, the archdiocese notifies the district attorney of the jurisdiction where the alleged crime took place. If the complaint is against a cleric still in ministry, the archdiocese launches an independent investigation and the priest is removed from ministry pending the results. If the allegation is substantiated by the Lay Review Board, the priest’s removal from ministry becomes permanent.

“The Archdiocese has taken meaningful steps to support victim-survivors of sexual abuse,” Judge Jones writes. “The victims assistance coordinator is available to offer victims support.”

In addition, since 2016, the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program of the archdiocese, administered independently by Kenneth Feinberg, has offered qualified claimants financial compensation for their suffering. “Although the IRCP process is confidential, victim-survivors are always free to discuss their abuse or their experience with the IRCP,” the summary states. “It has proven to be a highly effective program that provides expedited relief to victim-survivors without the need for costly litigation and the emotional distress that can result from that process.”

 

GETTING STRONGER

While current archdiocesan programs have been effective in preventing new incidents of abuse, Judge Jones sees opportunities to make it better. The archdiocese is in the process of planning and implementing her recommendations, including significant improvements in technology A new case management system, already in place, will track every abuse complaint “from first report through final resolution,” storing documentation and providing notifications and reminders. A new document management system for the Priest Personnel Office and an updated database for the Safe Environment Program will also allow better tracking of those working with children in the archdiocese.

The report also recommends an increase in the size and the expertise of the Lay Review Board; the appointment of a compliance officer in the Priest Personnel Office (already enacted); requiring more frequent Safe Environment training for staff and volunteers who work with minors; and the addition of protocols concerning the abuse of nonconsenting adults.

To report sexual abuse by a priest, bishop or deacon, please visit archny.org/report-a-complaint or contact Eileen Mulcahy: 646-794-2949 | victimsassistance@archny.org