VOTF Diocesan Survey Summaries (2007)

       

Statistical Summaries of All Dioceses

Dioceses Covered in Surveys
(some answered only 1 or 2 of the surveys)

Atlanta GA	Hartford CT	Palm Beach FL	San Antonio TX
Boston MA	Joliet IL	Pensacola/Tallahassee FL	San Francisco CA
Brooklyn NY	Kansas City/St Joseph MO	Philadelphia PA	Springfield MA
Chicago IL	Lansing MI	Portland ME	St. Petersburg FL
Cincinnati OH	Louisville KY	Portland OR	Venice FL
Cleveland OH	Manchester NH	Providence RI	Washington DC
Covington KY	Minneapolis/St,Paul MN	Richmond VA	Wilmington DE
Fall River MA	New York City NY	Rockford IL	Youngstown OH
Fort Worth TX	Orlando FL	Rockville Centre NY

*      Unless otherwise noted, all dioceses have a website which tells how to contact
             the Victim Assistance Coordinator and all diocesan councils are advisory in nature.    

**   DFC=Diocesan Finance Council; DPC=Diocesan Pastoral Council; NR=No Response

Diocese of Atlanta, GA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Unknown/Yes	Yes	Yes	Somewhat	NR*	Adequate	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation No	Receptivity to lay faithful NR	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Yes	Results of external audits Yes/Unknown
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Well	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Some	Outreach to survivors Poor
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Underway
Overall Assessment:	Diocese seems to have done some things well. Lay involvement in the diocese appears to be inadequate. Question on whether diocese works with VOTF or it is just contact.

Diocese of Boston, MA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation No	Receptivity to lay faithful NR	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Some	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Some
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Some	Outreach to survivors Some
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	VOTF still banned in most parishes. Diocese meets with VOTF 2x per year but with little follow-up action.  Inconsistency of Diocese listening to / working with laity.  Continued lack of trust.

Diocese of Brooklyn, NY
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation No	Receptivity to lay faithful NR	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Good	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Very Well	Outreach to survivors Very Well
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Very good progress.  VOTF has good accessibility at the diocesan level.  Programs for Child Protection and Survivor Support in full force.  Lay involvement in the diocese is very good.

Diocese of Chicago, IL
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/NR	Yes/NR	Yes	Yes	Unknown	No Response	Some	No Response

Church Governance:	No Response
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits No
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Good	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Some	Outreach to survivors Some
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Yes	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Making progress in many areas.  Chicago VOTF and SNAP keep the Cardinal’s and his office’s feet to the fire. More work needed in all areas.

Diocese of Cincinnati, OH
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Little	Yes	No	Partially	Some	Some	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Little	Receptivity to lay faithful No	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Some	Outreach to survivors Some
Independent review board ?	Abusers names public Yes	Child safety and awareness programs Underway
Overall Assessment:	Financial accountability is strong with the exception of disclosure of amounts related to sexual abuse.  Involvement of the laity is weak as the DPC often rubber stamps Episcopal decisions. Although necessary victim assistance information is on the website, Episcopal response tends to be defensive and at times hostile.

Diocese of Cleveland, OH
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/NR	Unknown/NR	Yes	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Church Governance:	No Response to Survey
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Unknown	Results of external audits Unknown
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Overall Assessment:	Making progress in many areas.  Chicago VOTF and SNAP keep the Cardinal’s and his office’s feet to the fire. More work needed in all areas.

Diocese of Covington, KY
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Pending	Selective	Yes	No	?	No	No	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Controlled	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports ?	Results of external audits/Public Yes/No
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Adequate	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Yes	Outreach to survivors Very Good
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Bishop has been pastoral with survivors and has sought a fair class action suit settlement.  Commitment to Vatican II and involvement of laity has been disappointing. The recent Diocesan Synod was so controlled that genuine concerns of the laity were not heard.  Review Board exists but is not independent. Financial management is sound.

Diocese of Fall River, MA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/No	No/No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	No	No

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful No Response	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Yes	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not well	Outreach to survivors Somewhat
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Not yet implemented
Overall Assessment:	No acknowledgement of VOTF.  Banned in all parishes.  Money is reported where spent but never administrative costs or where monies come from.  Good leadership in Children’s Protective Services but much apathy in parishes.

Diocese of Fort Worth, TX
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Annual	Yes	Very Well	Yes	Friendly	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Unknown	Results of external audits/Public Yes/Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Well	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Very Well	Outreach to survivors Excellent
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Yes!	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Great relationship with diocese.  Meet several times a year with Bishop, most recently 8/2007.  Bishop seeks VOTF input; meeting usually lasts two hours.  Reaching out to survivors is excellent now, though not previously

Diocese of Hartford, CT
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/No	Unknown	No	NR**	Unknown	Some	Yes	Yes, but!

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Some	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report No	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits No
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response
Overall Assessment:	Bishop has met with VOTF but promises made are not yet delivered.  Pastor must be at VOTF meetings.  Need response to the Child Protection Survey to get full picture.

Diocese of Joliet, IL
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits ?
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Good	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Some	Outreach to survivors ?
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Yes	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	There appears to be a history of meaningful lay involvement in the diocese, appropriate response to the sexual abuse crisis, and amiable relationship with VOTF.

Diocese of Kansas City, MO
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/NR**	Yes/NR	?	?	Unknown	?	?	?

Church Governance:	No Response to Survey
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Yes	Results of external audits Unknown
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Overall Assessment:	Bishop controls finances; nothing gets by him. Unable to assess the status of the diocese with only one survey answered.

Diocese of Lansing, MO
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation ?	Receptivity to lay faithful ?	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Overall Assessment:	Since the only survey submitted was on Church Governance and the responder left a number of questions unanswered, there is not enough information to adequately assess this dioceses compliance with best practices.

Diocese of Louisville, KY
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Yes	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not well	Outreach to survivors Not well
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Although the diocese has been strong in lay involvement and financial accountability, it has been weak on addressing the sexual abuse crisis as indicated especially by the fact that abusers names are not public.  VOTF has previously dealt with the chancellor but now with the arrival of Bishop Kurtz have a meeting to talk with him in October.

Diocese of Manchester, NH
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
NR/NR**	NR/NR	NR	Yes	Somewhat	NR	Not at all	NR

Church Governance:	No Response
Financial Accountability:	Publish: No Response
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Adequate	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Somewhat	Outreach to survivors Not well
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Yes	Child safety and awareness programs Underway
Overall Assessment:	Website but no diocesan newspaper.  Had one but it was suspended.  VOTF continues to be viewed negatively. Attempts to have a dialogue with Bishop have failed.  In 2005, appointed a diocesan liaison who used to come to VOTF meetings.  Hasn't come in some time.  Think diocese believes VOTF is no longer a force to contend with.

Diocese of Minneapolis, MN
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
NR/NR**	NR/NR	NR	No	Somewhat	NR	Not at all	NR

Church Governance:	No Response
Financial Accountability:	Publish: No Response
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poorly	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not well	Outreach to survivors Not well
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes

Diocese of New York, NY
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Unknown/Little	No	No	Yes	No	Not at all	No

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation No	Receptivity to lay faithful No	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:
Annual financial report No	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits No
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poorly	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not Well	Outreach to survivors Not at all
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Little progress with VOTF and lay communication and involvement.  Survivors supported poorly.  Most diocesan information is not made public.  Business as usual.

Diocese of Orlando, FL
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes	No	No

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Banned
Financial Accountability:
Annual financial report No	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits ?
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis ?	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not Well	Outreach to survivors ?
Independent review board ?	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs ?
Overall Assessment:	To his credit Bishop Wenski called a synod 2 years ago with about 1000 laity working on it. Although the synod’s emphasis was Parish Finance Councils, a DPC was formed.  Unfortunately, its operations are not public.  An improvement would be to recognize VOTF and SNAP as resources rather than “heterodoxical pressure groups.”

Diocese of Palm Beach, FL
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/No	Yes	Yes~	Yes	Yes~	Yes~	Yes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes~	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes~	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:
Annual financial report No	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits ?
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Somewhat	Outreach to survivors ?
Independent review board Yes~	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Survey was completed by diocesan personnel without VOTF review.  The “~” responses refer to evaluative questions which may benefit from a more impartial review.  No DPC raises a question as to the authentic participation of the laity.

Diocese of Philadelphia. PA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/No	Yes/No	No	Yes	Very Well	Yes	Sometimes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation No	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes, but	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits No
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Good	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Somewhat	Outreach to survivors Some
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Somewhat	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Consultation happens but usually with top financial, top educational, etc., lay people.  Responded, with rigid financial policies/controls, to a recent study regarding financial policies in the dioceses in the US.  Web site is a model.

Diocese of Portland, ME
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Some	Yes	Fully	NR**	Some	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Some	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese NR
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits No
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Good	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Somewhat	Outreach to survivors Some
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public Somewhat	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	Making progress.  Still have significant issues that need addressing.  Names of abusers available from the diocese, but not published.

Diocese of Portland, OR
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
NR/NR**	NR/NR	Unknown	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Church Governance:	No Response to Survey
Financial Accountability: Publish:	Answers to all questions were "Unknown"
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Overall Assessment:	No assessment can be made.

Diocese of Providence, RI
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Some	NR**	Yes	Yes	Assume Yes	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability: Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports No	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response
Overall Assessment:	Seems like great relationship; would like to see answers to third survey.  Boards are advisory but bishop usually follows recommendations; representatives may initiate items for discussion.  Church closings: after consulting with parish, a mutually agreeable plan is developed. New pastors are simply announced.  Not all parishes would welcome VOTF.

Diocese of Richmond, VA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	No?	No	Yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese No
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report ?	Annual budget reports ?	Results of external audits ?
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poor	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not Well	Outreach to survivors ?
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Yes
Overall Assessment:	The responses for Richmond are inconclusive.  Minimal requirements seem to be in place but VOTF leadership seems to lack confidence that the sexual abuse issue is being adequately faced.  Mutual communication is lacking

Diocese of Rockford, IL
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
No Response/Yes

Church Governance:	Only 1 question answered
Financial Accountability: Publish:	No Response to Survey
Child Protection Accountability:	No Response to Survey
Overall Assessment:	Due to lack of responses little can be confirmed about this diocese.  The website lists the Virtus program in full force. No names of credible abusers are listed.  The website states: “There has never been a single instance where allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made against a clergyman in the Diocese while the alleged victim was still a minor.”

Diocese of Rockville Center, NY
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
NR/NR**	NR/NR	NR	Yes	?	NR	Banned	NR

Church Governance:	No Response to Survey
Financial Accountability: Publish:	No Response to Survey
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poorly	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not well	Outreach to survivors Unknown
Independent review board No	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Underway
Overall Assessment:	Newspaper controlled by Bishop, who does not want anything to do with VOTF. His "take" on the abuse crises is not at all compassionate and/or healing.  No assessment of how the diocese is run with other 2 surveys.

Diocese of San Antonio, TX
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
NR/NR**	NR/NR	NR	Yes	?	NR	Banned	NR

Church Governance:	No Response to Survey
Financial Accountability: Publish:	No Response to Survey
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Poorly	Bishop publicly addressed crisis NR	Outreach to survivors NR
Independent review board NR	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs NR
Overall Assessment:	The “Office of Victim Assistance and Safe Environment" has very good coverage on policies, how to prevent abuse, what happens if it does, even the link to Texas Dept of Safety website to locate sex offenders.  All is future.  No information about what went on in the past, status of cases, etc.

Diocese of San Francisco, CA
Councils DFC/DPC**	Laity Involved DFC/DPC**	Financial Report Programs	Survivor Support	Follows USCCB	Honors Vatican II	Contact with VOTF	VOTF can meet
Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, some	No	Yes	yes

Church Governance:
Parish Consultation Yes	Receptivity to lay faithful Yes	VOTF a credible voice in diocese Yes
Financial Accountability:	Publish:
Annual financial report Yes	Annual budget reports Unknown	Results of external audits Yes
Child Protection Accountability:
How well cover abuse crisis Some	Bishop publicly addressed crisis Not at all	Outreach to survivors Not well
Independent review board Yes	Abusers names public No	Child safety and awareness programs Underway
Overall Assessment:	Unlike predecessor, new Archbishop is open and cooperative with VOTF.  Do not yet know if he will include laity in policy decisions in the diocese.

Diocese of Springfield, MA