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Catholic Major Superiors of Men Norms
Improving
Pastoral Care and Accountability In Response to the Tragedy of
Sexual Abuse Conference of Major Superiors of Men Annual Assembly,
Philadelphia, PA August 10, 2002
As
leaders of the men's Catholic religious orders and societies of
apostolic life with 21,000 priests and brothers in the United States,
and consistent with our institutes' traditions and Gospel values,
we are committed to the protection of children and young people.
We
share in the anguish expressed by many Catholics and others over
the issues of sexual abuse of minors by diocesan and religious
priests, and by religious brothers. We are deeply moved by the
stories of the victims and their families.
Sexual
abuse of minors is abhorrent. When the abuser is a trusted member
of church or society who holds himself out as a healer, the abuse
is magnified. We share in the anger of betrayal. We attempt to
reach out to victims with care and hope to rebuild the trust that
has been lost. Often, these abusers were under our supervision
or the supervision of our predecessors and this fills us with a
painful sense of responsibility for what has occurred. We hope
and pray that we have acted responsibly and too often find that
our decisions have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of
those who were abused and those whom we serve and work with in
ministry. We are deeply sorry for that and publicly apologize for
whenever and however we have failed victims or families.
We
believe that in most instances over this last decade, as we have
learned more about the tragic consequences of sexual abuse, we
have acted responsibly in dealing with allegations. But, we have
also heard the clear call to more accountability and transparency
in how we as leaders of men religious deal with the protection
of children from sexual abuse by members of our institutes and
how we handle allegations of sexual abuse and follow-up outreach
to victims and supervision of our members charged with sexual abuse.
Therefore, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men gathered in
Assembling Philadelphia from August 7-10, 2002, instructs the leadership
of the Conference:
-
To research currently available services, design needed services,
and provide them to its membership to enable them to have in place
the mechanisms to respond promptly to any allegation of sexual
abuse. These services will help them to have a competent assistance
coordinator to aiding the immediate pastoral care of persons who
claim to have been abused by members of their institutes. These
services could include methods of collaboration between institutes
that are members of CMSM.
-
To research and design further services whereby its member institutes
can, either on their own or in union with others, establish an
independent review board, the majority of whom will be layperson
not in the employ of those institutes. These boards will assess
allegations, review regular institute policies and procedures for
dealing with sexual abuse of minors, and advise the major superior
on the offender's fitness for ministry. These board swill act retrospectively
and prospectively on these matters and give advice on all aspects
of responses required in connection with these cases.
-
To research and design mechanisms of public accountability for
US major superiors that would include a national review board made
up of layperson and others not involved in the leadership of CMSM
institutes. The board shall review annually the implementation
of sexual abuse policies in those CMSM institutes that subscribe
for the service and make recommendations about their implementation
in a published form.
-
To seek consultation with an expert (or experts) in the protection
of children for its service to membership, especially for educational
programs for the protection of children and the prevention of sexual
abuse ominous by those in their own institutes and in society at
large.
-
To research currently available service and resources, design needed
services and provide them to its membership to respond promptly
to the need for more effective methods of intervention, care, treatment,
and follow-up supervision of institute members in need of treatment
and continuing supervision for sexual abuse. These services could
be designed to be implemented collaboratively among CMSM member
institutes.
-
To initiate dialogue with appropriate groups (Bishops, women religious,
victims, professionals, abusers and others) for the creation of
programs for healing, reconciliation and Welles for all those affected
by sexual abuse.
These
programs and services will be developed as soon as possible and
made available to the membership.
Men's
religious communities have already taken many steps to protect
those in our care. Religious communities have developed careful
guidelines for screening new candidates including intense psychological
testing. For more than 12 years, CMSM has been encouraging and
helping its members to review and update policies for professional
conduct on a regular basis and to follow local, state and federal
laws when dealing with abuse issues. The vast majority of our membership
has done so. The members of CMSM continuity strongly support the
five principles for dealing with situations of abuse offered by
the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops in 1993. *
*
Respond promptly to all allegations of abuse where there is reasonable
belief that abuse has occurred. 2. If such an allegation is supported
by sufficient evidence, relieve the alleged offender promptly of
his ministerial duties and refer him for appropriate medical evaluation
and intervention. 3. Comply with the obligations of civil law as
regards reporting of the incident and cooperating with the investigation.
4. Reach out to the victims and their families and communicate
sincere commitment to their spiritual and emotional well-being.
5.Within the confines of respect for privacy of the individuals
involved, deal as openly as possible with the members of the community.
Legal,
psychological, and organizational policies can help reduce the
number of future situations, but cannot fully address the deep
and profound pain that our leaders feel over any abuse of the human
person, especially the horror of sexual abuse of children. Religious
priests or brothers who have molested children or adolescents have
broken the bonds of trust invested in them. We feel this hurt deeply.
We are also distressed and confused as to how men can harm young
people in this way. We support all efforts to try to come to a
better understanding of this proclivity, already aware that many
of the abusers were themselves sexually abused as children. We
strive to understand how we can spot the signs of this tendency
early on before abuse occurs. Many of our congregations were founded
precisely to care for children in schools, shelters, orphanages,
in the inner city, or overseas. For many religious men, their very
lives are lived out each day in sensitively caring for, teaching
and protecting children. That this ministry could provide occasions
for this kind of abuse overwhelms us with concern for the future.
Because
of who we are as religious living lives in the witness of community,
we are also called to compassionate responses to any among us who
has committed this abuse. He is still our brother in Christ. We
must share his burden. He remains a member of our family. Just
as a family does not abandon a member convicted of serious crimes,
we cannot turn our backs on our brother. If a religious has abused
a child or adolescent, he is not only subject to civil and criminal
law, but, according to the Charter for the Protection of Children
and Young People adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
he also cannot be reassigned to public ministries or be involved
with young people. Though it may be long in coming, we must walk
the journey with him through repentance, healing, forgiveness,
and hopefully reconciliation.
But
our compassion does not cloud our clarity. We abhor sexual abuse.
We will not tolerate any type of abuse by our members. Our tradition
of fraternal correction requires us to hold one another accountable.
In addition to being a crime, sexual abuse of this type violates
our most fundamental values as religious. Bearing our responsibility,
we place these men under severe restrictions after treatment and
those with the greatest danger to the public are carefully supervised
to avoid occasions where they can engage in abuse again. In situations
where dismissal is appropriate, due process will be respected.
It is our agreed upon policy with the U.S. bishops confirmed by
the Code of Canon Law that disclosures about our men must be made
to the local bishop when assignment for ministry is sought, including
any past occasions of sexual abuse. We honor the values and principles
of the Dallas Charter and we seek to apply them to the unique situation
of men's religious institutes in the Church. When the status of
the Essential Norms is clarified, we look forward to dialogue with
the Bishops on their application.
Because
celibacy has been portrayed so negatively in some recent news reports,
we want to say that celibacy in religious life is freely chosen
as part of our commitment to life in community along with the vows
of poverty and obedience. For us, this celibacy finds its source
in the life and teachings of Jesus and in the most ancient traditions
of our religious institutes. It is imposed by no one, and is rooted
in the journey to God that is at the heart of monastic and religious
life. Whatever happens with the discipline of celibacy that is
associated with the diocesan priesthood, celibacy will remain a
treasured feature of religious life. We see it as the ultimate
witness to the holiness of sexuality, not as a flight from it or
repression of it. We also have learned over many years that only
those truly called to it can live it well and find the fullness
of their human meaning in it. It is not meant for the faint of
heart or for those fleeing the world.
In
the Acts of the Apostles we read, "the community of believers
were of one mind and one heart (Acts 4:32). We are of one mind
and one heart in our responsibility to care for our children. Though
at times the well of anger surrounding this public debate seems
bottomless and our hearts are deeply troubled by this betrayal,
as religious we are committed to working with parents, church leaders,
civil society and all people of good will to restore the trust
that has been lost, and to find what we need to learn from this
tragedy, what it calls us to as people of faith and as a nation.
August
2002
Conference
of Major Superiors of Men 8808 Cameron St. Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-588-4030
Phone
301-587-4575 Fax |
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