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Child
Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church
Statement
in Response to Bishops' Proposed Sexual Abuse Policy
By
A. Sidney Johnson III, President & CEO, Prevent Child Abuse
America - June 4, 2002
"We
are very encouraged that the Catholic Bishops appear to
have taken a serious step toward resolving two critical
issues: the reporting of suspected abuse to the appropriate
authorities and the development of prevention programs to
strengthen the ability of the church to prevent future acts
of abuse.
"Reporting
of suspected abuse and a zero tolerance policy toward its
perpetrators are certainly important, but they will not
prevent children from being abused in the first place. That's
why we're pleased to see that the bishops have called for
the establishment of 'safe environment' programs aimed at
educating ministers, parents, children and others about
the ways to protect children from abuse. Such prevention
education programs have been the backbone of our organization
for 30 years.
"The
critical questions now, of course, are whether these policies
will be binding on dioceses and bishops across this country,
and whether they will actually be implemented. Similar prevention
programs and policies were recommended by another ad hoc
committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in
1993, but were never fully implemented. Ultimately, if the
bishops are unable to enforce a mandatory reporting policy
through canon law, we will have to take steps to ensure
compliance through changes in criminal and civil law.
"In
the last week, we offered to the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops our assistance in the development of a colloquium
to bring together experts on child abuse prevention and
church leaders to identify the critical components of effective
prevention policies and programs. We reinstate that offer
today. We have a history of providing such assistance to
organizations struggling with the issue of sexual abuse,
including the Boy Scouts of America in 1993 and the National
Summit on Child Protection in Youth Sports in 1995, both
of which recognized the value of a prevention component
in their responses to the crises.
"While
today's draft charter has been a clear step toward a thoughtful
response to the magnitude of the issues related to sexual
abuse facing the church, we believe that a comprehensive,
binding and fully implemented prevention program is essential
to truly serve the interests of today's children. We stand
ready to assist the church in any possible way to develop
and implement such a prevention program across the country."
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