The Coalition
of Catholics and Survivors (CCS) is currently working with experts on childhood sexual trauma to promote two key
initiatives that are crucial to the resolution of the sex abuse crisis
in the Church.
The first, an
independent outreach and advocacy program for victims of predatory
priests, has been strongly supported by leading advocacy groups and
psychological services providers such as the Victims of Violence Program
at the Cambridge Health Alliance, Jane Doe, Inc., and Massachusetts
Citizens for Children, as well as hundreds of individual therapists and
advocates throughout the Commonwealth.
The second,
an independent review board that will monitor the Archdiocese’s handling
of sex abuse allegations, has likewise been explicitly endorsed by
victims’ advocates, including the members of Cardinal Law’s Commission
for the Protection of Children, as essential to ending the secrecy and
deception that have undermined the Church’s response to sex abuse
claims.
In his
comprehensive report on the Boston Archdiocese’s long-term efforts to
protect abusive priests from detection and prosecution, Attorney General
Tom Reilly strongly supported autonomous outreach, advocacy,
and oversight for clergy sex abuse victims. Specifically, commenting
the Archdiocese’s newly instituted Policies and Procedures for the
Protection of Children, the Attorney General wrote:
Independent Review
Boards. None
of the various boards or offices appearing in the Policies and
Procedures is "independent" or "independently incorporated," raising
doubts about the Archdiocese's commitment to objective oversight and
further hampering attempts to rebuild trust in the institution. Under
the Policies and Procedures, the Archbishop has complete control over
selection of Review Board members who must be "in full communion" with
the church. As a result, it is less likely that the Review Board can
operate independently and effectively (a problem under the 1993 policy)
or make decisions, judgments or recommendations adverse to the
Archdiocese as an institution, but still in the public interest.
Independent Victim’s
Assistance Board.
The experts on the Commission and the Attorney General, recognizing the
conflict of interest that arose from the Archdiocese’s control over the
provision of assistance to victims who came forward with allegations of
sexual abuse, advocated for an independent board to oversee this function.
It is essential that services to victims be arranged or provided by
persons financed by, but unaffiliated with, the Archdiocese. (p. 18)
1.
The members of the Independent Review Board will be experienced
professionals with specific expertise in the therapeutic treatment and
legal rights of victims of sexual abuse. Board members may or may not
be practicing Catholics, but none will have any ties to the Archbishop
or any other agent of the Archdiocese.
2. Some Board members will be survivors of childhood sexual trauma,
but no Board member will be involved in an ongoing legal case against
the Archdiocese of Boston or any other entity attached to the Catholic
Church.
3.
The Review Board will not conduct investigations. Instead, the
Board will evaluate the Archdiocese’s investigation of individual cases
at the request of complainants who have obtained their files, as they
are now entitled to do under the Archdiocese’s Policies and Procedures
for the Protection of Children. The relevant stipulations in the RCAB’s
new policies are that “every
complainant and his/her lawful representative is provided access to any
information generated in connection with an investigation of alleged
child abuse,” and the “complainant
and the person whose conduct is being investigated will receive due
notice of investigations and proceedings, an opportunity to examine
written records that will be used in making decisions, and protection of
the right to hierarchic recourse and appeal, in accord with the norms of
Church law.”
4.
The
Review Board will receive guidance and information from an advisory
committee of clergy abuse survivors and activists. By conferring with
this group on a regular basis, the Review Board will benefit from the
knowledge that survivors have gained from their experience and make sure
that victims’ concerns are swiftly and fully addressed.
5.
Members of
the Review Board will not publicly disclose any information relating to
victims without first receiving victims’ written permission.
6. Since the
Review Board will be uniquely qualified to comment on the success or
failure of the Archdiocese’s attempts to deal with the detection and
prevention of clergy sexual abuse, the Board will issue periodic
evaluations of the Church’s overall progress in publicizing past
misconduct, responding to new allegations, respecting victims’ rights,
and making sure that previous patterns of criminal activity are never
repeated again.
Independent Outreach
and Advocacy Program
As Attorney General
Reilly observed, “It is essential that services to victims be arranged
or provided by persons financed by, but unaffiliated with, the
Archdiocese.” To meet this criteria, CCS is working with the Victims of
Violence Program, Jane Doe, Inc., the rape crisis centers, and other
established agencies to set up a program that will enable survivors to
obtain the psychological services they need without forcing them to seek
help directly from the Church.
The Independent Outreach
and Advocacy Program will not interfere with any victims’ decision to
reach out to the Church for pastoral care. Instead, the program will be
designed to allow victims to receive funding from the Archdiocese for
counseling and other essential services, but will free them from having
to be interrogated by Church employees. The only difference between
what is happening now under the auspices of the Archdiocese’s
Office for Pastoral Support and Outreach and what will happen under the
new program is that trained therapists at established agencies will
convey the information that the Archdiocese presently collects in
face-to-face interviews with the victims themselves.
CCS is consulting with various services providers to determine how the
Archdiocese’s funding mechanism should be set up to avoid all conflicts
of interest. We believe that an ideal solution would be for the
Archdiocese to create a fund that would be administered by a third party
such as the Massachusetts Office of Victims Assistance. While we are
currently scheduling meetings among various advocacy groups to clarify
these crucial details, the principle that governs this entire initiative
is that victims should be able to obtain services without having to go
directly to the institution that h armed them and, contrary to the
Archdiocese’s previous policies, without having to give up their privacy
or their basic legal rights.
Meeting
with Archbishop Sean O’Malley
In October,
after the professionals involved in this effort have had a chance to
determine the composition of the Review Board and sketch out a
definitive outline of the Independent Outreach and Advocacy Program,
advocates hope to meet with Archbishop O’Malley to discuss both
initiatives. In view of Archbishop O’Malley’s repeated pledge to do all
he can to resolve the sex abuse crisis, as well as the overwhelming
support that these two initiatives have received from both psychological
services providers and public authorities, we have every reason to
expect him to support our goals.
While we can
never undo the damage done by the Archdiocese’s decades of disregard for
clergy sex abuse victims, the Independent Review Board and the
Independent Outreach and Advocacy Program will assist all victims by
eliminating secrecy, leveling the playing field, creating a climate of
safety, and safeguarding victims’ fundamental rights. Thus, when the
media attention fades, and the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church
has moved off the public’s radar, these programs will be there to help
the majority of victims who have yet to speak out.
Let’s Not Repeat the Past:
Support
Independent Outreach, Advocacy & Oversight For Victims of Clergy Sexual
abuse
