August 26, 2018 - "A Crisis Regarding the Responsibility of Church Authorities"

Greg Erlandson, Director and Editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, recently published a column in the Boston Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston that was entitled “A crisis regarding the responsibility of Church authorities.”  In his column Mr. Erlandson gives four take-aways in the wake of the recently issued Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, revelations about Archbishop McCarrick, and other allegations that come to light regarding seminaries.  Let me summarize these for you now.  Then I want to talk about one of his take-way points at greater length.  Here are his four take-aways:
 
1. The bishops today must convincingly demonstrate a spirit of repentance and commitment.  Their recommitment must involve greater accountability and transparency for which they must have the support of the Vatican.
2. Many are calling for the laity to have a greater role in investigations and in future decision-making.  The Church needs lay men and women to be actively involved in the purification and renewal of the Church.  There should also be a renewed appreciation of the church’s own media in informing and forming Catholics.
3. Much has changed since the scandals have rocked the Church in 2002.  Extensive procedures for training young people, for background checks, and for reporting violations have been put into place.  Victims are much more likely now to be treated with sympathy and their reports taken seriously.
4. Solving the problem of sexual abuse and accountability in the Church will not solve the problems of sexual abuse and accountability in society.  There are an estimated 60,000 cases of child abuse in the United States each year.  If we multiply that by seventy (the number of years covered in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report), we come to an estimate of 4,200,000 cases—a truly horrifying number.  Granted that abuse in the larger society is no excuse for the 301 priests (about 5 percent of all priests who served in those six Pennsylvania dioceses over the seventy year period) who are guilty of abusing at least 1,000 victims.
Mr. Erlandson concludes his remarks with the hope that if any good is to come out of this long tragedy, the Church (which has been humiliated and is the object of scorn) may be able to contribute at some point to the much greater healing that needs to take place both in our country and our world.
 
Finally, let me mention that the Archdiocese of Washington established in July 2002 a Child Protection Advisory Board that reports directly to the archbishop.  There are currently five members on the board who have a particular knowledge, insight, or expertise in the protection of minors, and serve three year terms..  The Board meets several times each year, has updated the Archdiocesan Child Protection Policy and publishes an annual report on Archdiocesan efforts in the area of child protection.

The Advisory Board is in addition to the Archdiocesan Case Review Board, established in 1993 to assist the archbishop in assessing allegations and fitness for ministry.  If you would like to have a copy of their latest report covering July 1, 2016—June 30, 2017, please let me know and I will be happy to send you a copy of it.
 
Perhaps, most important of all, if you have been a victim of child sexual abuse, please contact the Office of Child and Youth Protection. The Executive Director of the Office of Child Protection is Courtney Chase, LCSW-C, LICSW.  You can contact her at 301-853-5302, so that you may get the assistance that you need.
Until next week,
Fr. John