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WASHINGTON (March 12, 2007)—Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, Chair of the U.S. Bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, will address the issue of clerical sexual abuse of children at a lecture at Georgetown University, March 20, at 8 p.m.
The speech at the nation's oldest Catholic university marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a 17-step plan to confront the greatest scandal known to the church in the United States.
The Charter was adopted at an historic meeting in Dallas in June 2002, and led to the removal of abusive priests from ministry and other efforts to establish a safe environment for children in church institutions.
Bishop Aymond, a native of New Orleans, was appointed bishop of Austin, Texas, in 2001. During his 30 years of ministry, he has served as a parish priest, high school teacher, seminary professor and rector, and director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
The lecture is sponsored by the university's Woodstock Theological Center and will be moderated by Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, a Woodstock fellow, former editor of America Magazine, and author of several books and articles on the contemporary church.
The address will take place at Georgetown's Intercultural Center Auditorium at 8 p.m. and will be followed by questions from the audience. Further information can be found at http://woodstock.georgetown.edu.