USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - U. S. Bishops Approve Charter to Protect Children and Young People

U. S. Bishops Approve Charter to Protect Children and Young People

WASHINGTON (June 15, 2002) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced today that the convened membership of the conference at its semi-annual general meeting in Dallas, Texas, June 12 -14, 2002, approved a new Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The vote was 239 to 13. Passage required 190 votes.

The Charter is the definitive response of the U.S. bishops to the laity's, the clergy's, and the public's concern over the issue of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. Adoption of the Charter followed an unprecedented series of meetings of the bishops with victims and their families and with experts on sexual abuse, the impact of abuse on survivors, and the opinion of the Catholic laity. The first draft of the Charter was made public by the USCCB's Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse on June 4, 2002.

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Illinois, USCCB President, said, "The adoption by the conference of bishops of the Charter to Protect Children and Young People is an unprecedented milestone in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States in four significant respects.

First, the bishops have resolved to create national standards and policies for dealing with the devastating pain and sorrow of abuse victims. Second, we have established national standards and processes for protecting all children in the future. Third, we have committed to and established national processes for consistently and vigilantly dealing with clergy abusers - with no tolerance for any abuse and for barring from the ministry all abusers. Finally, we are committing dioceses and the national organization of the conference to greater involvement of the laity in all these new procedures."

Significant determinations of the Charter (full text available at www.usccb.org) include the following:

Attention to the Needs of Victims

The Charter commits dioceses and eparchies (dioceses of the Eastern Catholic Church) to the healing and reconciliation of victims of sexual abuse by priests. Dioceses will provide counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups, and other social services agreed upon by victims and their dioceses.

Consistent National Standards and Procedures for Dealin with Allegations and Determined Incidents of Abuse
The Charter commits dioceses to have mechanisms in place to respond promptly to any allegation, have a competent assistance coordinator, and a lay review board.
The Charter states dioceses will not enter into confidentiality agreements except for grave and substantial reasons brought forward by the victim.
The Charter commits dioceses to report any allegation of sexual abuse of a person who is a minor to public authorities. Dioceses will cooperate with public authorities about reporting in cases when the person is no longer a minor.
The Charter asserts that dioceses will deal with sexual abuse offenders as follows:
- An alleged offender will be promptly relieved of ministerial duties and referred for medical and psychological evaluation - but no action taken which would interfere with a civil investigation.
- When an allegation is admitted or determined, past, present or future, the diocesan policy will be that the offender will be removed permanently from ministry. If he is not dismissed from the clerical state (e.g., for reasons of advanced age or infirmity), he will not be permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, to wear clerical garb, or to present himself publicly as a priest.
- When an allegation is proved to be unfounded, every step possible will be taken to restore the good name of the cleric.

The Charter commits to having all dioceses enforce clear and well-publicized standards of ministerial behavior and appropriate boundaries for clergy and for any other Church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people.

The Charter commits each diocese to having a communications policy that reflects a commitment to openness and transparency.

Enforcement and Accountability

The Charter creates a national Office for Child and Youth Protection to monitor and assist dioceses throughout the nation in regards to their steps to protect the safety of children and enforce procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse and determined abusers.

The Office of Child and Youth Protection will produce an annual report, available to the public, detailing the prevention programs in place and the allegations and status of allegations of sexual abuse in all dioceses throughout the U.S.

The Office of Child and Youth Protection will be assisted and monitored by a lay Review Board, including parents, which will approve the annual report and commission studies about the causes of the current crisis and the nature and scope of the problem in the U.S. Catholic Church.

The USCCB's Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse will be reconstituted to include bishops from all regions of the United States.

Protection of Children and Youth

The Charter commits to having all dioceses establish "safe environment" programs in cooperation with parents, civil authorities, educators, and community organizations.

The Charter commits dioceses to evaluate the background of all diocesan and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors.

The Charter stipulates that when a cleric is proposed for a new assignment, transfer, or residence in another diocese, a full, accurate and complete description of the cleric's record will be provided.

The Charter commits the U.S. Church to cooperating with other churches and ecclesial communities, other religious bodies, institutions of learning, and other interested organizations in conducting research about child sexual abuse and protection of children.

The USCCB

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is an assembly of the hierarchy of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands who jointly exercise certain pastoral functions on behalf of the Catholic faithful of the United States. The purpose of the conference is to promote the greater good which the Church offers humankind, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place. This purpose is drawn from the universal law of the Church and applies to the episcopal conferences which are established all over the world for the same purpose.

The bishops themselves constitute the membership of the conference and are served by a staff of over 350 lay people, priests and religious located at the conference headquarters in Washington, DC.