National Representative Council Notes

Spring meeting, April 25-27, 2008

Preliminary Report to the National Representative Council (NRC) of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) from the Ad Hoc Committee (Committee) to Study VOTF Policy toward the National Review Board (NRB)

Philadelphia PA

Membership:

The three elected NRC members to the Committee solicited additional members from among VOTF Officers, BOT, and the four working groups of VOTF. Current members:

Frances Hofmeister (Working Group II)

Elia Marnik (BOT)

Kathy Mullaney (Protecting Our Children working group)

Hugh O’Regan (NRC), seated after resignation of Bob Schwiderski

Steve Sheehan (NRC & WG I)

Ed Wilson (NRC)

Pat Gomez (NRC), Chair

Formation & Tasks:

The Committee was formed and met for the first time on February 22, 2008. To date, the Committee has met six times via telephone conference calls.

The Resolution shaping our work lists 5 tasks:

1. Review the role of the National Review Board (NRB), its scope and its operations
2. Review existing policies and actions of VOTF in relation to the NRB
3. Examine the mission of the NRB to oversee implementation of the USCCB Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter)
4. Examine the NRB’s effectiveness in carrying out its mission
5. Make recommendations to the NRC for VOTF’s role in monitoring and assisting the NRB.

Committee members understood our task to also include communication with the Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP) of the USCCB. The OCYP was created in the Charter and assigned three central tasks: to assist in the implementation of Safe Environment Programs; to develop an appropriate audit mechanism to assist the Bishops and Eparchs in adhering to the responsibilities set forth in the Charter; and to prepare a public, annual report describing compliance to the Charter’s provisions.

Work to Date:

The Committee has reviewed various documents and reports issued by the NRB and the OCYP, including: 2007 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter and the Status Report of the NRB, December 2007.

Members have contacted and are continuing conversations with Judge Michael Merz, Chair of the NRB; Teresa Kettelkamp, Executive Director of the OCYP; and Jim Kelly, Fordham University and researcher involved with the John Jay “Cause and Context” study.

Focus on the 2007 Annual Audit Report:

The Committee is currently considering the larger context of how compliance to the 17 Articles of the Charter is unfolding. Committee members are disappointed and concerned that all dioceses and eparchies are not in compliance with the Articles of the Charter, and the Committee is discussing the practical use of the Audits.

Committee members are concerned about the high expenditures of resources related to implementation of the Charter and the auditing process. Our expectations are that Bishops/Eparchs would be highly committed to implementing all Articles of the Charter: safe environment programs; criminal background checks; and signed endorsements of standards of conduct. Yet 10 dioceses were found to be non-compliant with Article 12 of the Charter: to maintain “safe environment” programs and to acquire from staff and volunteers signed endorsements of standards of conduct (Codes of Conduct). For example, more than 5 years after the creation of the Charter, the question of compliance criteria to Article 12, how to judge compliance of dioceses and parishes with the bishops’ commitment to provide training to create and maintain a safe environment, has not been adequately addressed. And the Committee holds this concern as a priority.

 

Preliminary Recommendations to the NRC:

The Committee sets out these preliminary recommendations, and expects to submit our Final Recommendations of action items to the NRC by May 2008.

1. VOTF should continue the work of this Ad Hoc Committee and communications with the NRB and OCYP after our tenure has expired in May 2008 through naming a standing committee or working group comprised of VOTF members.
2. Approximately $900K is needed to complete the “Cause & Context” portion of the John Jay Study. The Committee recommends collaborating with the OCYP and the NRB to find funding to complete the “Cause & Context” portion of the Study through contacting organizations that provide grants for this type of initiative or assisting in the grant writing process. The Committee suggests contacting: FADICA (Founders and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities), the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, the National Institutes of Health, or the Center for Disease Control.
3. Urge dioceses and future audits to track the location of former priests who have been taken out of ministry without public trial in cases that involved secret settlement agreements in the past between dioceses and abuse victims or their families. Names and address of these men should be on lists of sexual abusers, and their presence should be made known to communities where they live.
4. Prompt review of allegations of clergy sexual abuse, and prompt reinstatement of priests / clergy when allegations against them are determined to be unfounded or disproved by civil authorities and diocesan review boards (Article 5 of the Charter).
5. Investigate diocesan web pages for information on how to contact victim assistant coordinators and safe environment coordinators. Is the information readily available on the web page, in the diocesan newspaper, and in parishes? Are the victim coordinators and safe environment coordinators easy to approach? What are their qualifications? Are they responsive to inquiries?
6. Ensure that priests are educated about sexual abuse, that they understand the effects of this abuse on the person, the family, and the community, and monitor that they have been trained in abuse awareness and prevention. It is very strongly recommended that a presentation by a survivor of clergy abuse be included in this curriculum, so that attendees receive a full understanding of what it means to be abused by clergy and the long-lasting effects of clergy sexual abuse.
7. Undertake a national effort to create Safe Environment programs in all parishes; parishioners would monitor the creation and implementation of child personal safety training and adult abuse prevention education, as well as ensure that criminal background checks are obtained for parish staff and volunteers, and that staff and volunteers have read and signed a parish-based or diocesan-based code of conduct.
8. Ensure that international priests who come to minister in the US have appropriate background checks performed in their native country before they are assigned to US parishes; ensure that they are trained in abuse prevention programs; and ensure that international priests understand the social, cultural, and ethical standards of appropriate interactions and boundaries between adults and children.

Appendix I. Notes on – 2007 Audits

The Gavin Group of Boston was contracted to undertake 3 audits: ’07; ’08; and ‘09

• 2007 audit cycle = full, onsite audits
• 1 or 2 auditors per Diocese / Eparchy (D/E)
• OCYP conducted 13 pre-audit workshops for D/E personnel who were to be involved in the audit process, using actual audit documents to familiarize diocesan personnel w/scope and focus of the auditing processes

General Information about 2007 Audit:

• 5^th Annual Audit
• 195 Diocese / Eparchies (D/E)
• 190 participated in the 2007 Audit
• 18 D/E not compliant in 2005 received focused audits in 2007 (?)
• 11 D/E requested full audits (?)
• All audits conducted on-site
• No review of personnel files (?)
• Relied on truthfulness & integrity of those providing information & statistical data

2007 Audit Results - from 190 (D/E) responding:

• 178 (D/E) compliant with Charter
• 10 (D/E) not compliant w/ Article 12 (Safe Environment programs; Codes of Conduct)
• 3 (D/E) not compliant w/ Article 13 (Criminal background checks – employees & volunteers)
• 2 D/E not compliant w/ Article 4 (Reporting allegations to public authorities, and complying with civil laws; however, both dioceses took action and were compliant by December 31, 2007)
• Total of 12 dioceses (some were non-compliant on 2 Articles)

Pilot Project: Parishes Audited in 9 Dioceses and 1 Eparchy

• Parish Audit tool created by Gavin Group in consultation with OCYP
• Parishes selected by agreement between D/E and the auditors: equal representation of urban, suburban and rural parishes that were audited
• Voluntary participation in Pilot Parish Audit process by D/E
• Parish visitation and interviews conducted with: pastors; volunteers; employees; educators; other school personnel – most interviewees selected by the audit personnel
• Examined parish implementation of Charter, to obtain “management information” (?)
• Judge Merz has stated: results justify extending parish-level auditing

CARA Survey (online questionnaire to D/E) - results included in 2007 Audit Report

• All (D/E) & Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) received questionnaires
• Dec 07 è Jan 08 was the CARA Questionnaire Audit period
• Purpose: to gather data on: new allegations of sexual abuse; $ spent for POC efforts
• Responses received from 194 (D/E)

Note: (?) indicates the Committee continues to seek clarifying information