IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of the dioceses
By
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — The U.S. bishops as “are shamed by and sorry for the sins and
omissions by Catholic priests and Catholic bishops” that have led to sexual
abuse and caused great harm to many, said an Aug. 14 statement from the
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairman of its
child protection committee.
“We
are committed to work in determined ways so that such abuse cannot happen,”
said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the president, and Bishop
Timothy L. Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana, chairman of the Committee for the Protection
of Children and Young People.
They
pledged “to maintain transparency” and provide for “the permanent removal of
offenders from ministry and to maintain safe environments for everyone.”
Cardinal DiNardo also said he is hosting a series of meetings during the week to respond to “the broader issue of safe environments within the church,” and will provide an update when the meetings are concluded.
The prelates’ joint statement was issued in response to the release the same day of a grand jury
report based on a months-long investigation by the state’s attorney general
into sexual abuse claims in six Pennsylvania dioceses — Pittsburgh,
Harrisburg, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.
The
report covers a span of over 70 years. Many of the claims go back decades.
“(The
report) again illustrates the pain of those who have been victims of the crime
of sexual abuse by individual members of our clergy, and by those who shielded
abusers and so facilitated an evil that continued for years or even decades,”
said Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Doherty.
“We
are grateful for the courage of the people who aided the investigation by
sharing their personal stories of abuse,” they said. “As a body of bishops, we
are shamed by and sorry for the sins and omissions by Catholic priests and
Catholic bishops.”
They
added, “We are profoundly saddened each time we hear about the harm caused as a
result of abuse, at the hands of a clergyman of any rank.”
Cardinal
DiNardo and Bishop Doherty said the USCCB committee headed by the Indiana bishop
and the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection at the bishops’ conference in
Washington “will continue to offer avenues to healing for those who have been
abused. We are committed to work in determined ways so that such abuse cannot happen.”
In
2002, the bishops adopted the “Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People,” which, they said, “commits us to respond promptly and
compassionately to victims, report the abuse of minors, remove offenders and
take ongoing action to prevent abuse.” The charter was revised and updated in
2011 and again in 2018.
“We
pledge to maintain transparency and to provide for the permanent removal of
offenders from ministry and to maintain safe environments for everyone,” the
two prelates said. “All policies and procedures regarding training and
background check requirements are made publicly available by dioceses and
eparchies.”
“We
pray that all survivors of sexual abuse find healing, comfort and strength in
God’s loving presence as the church pledges to continue to restore trust
through accompaniment, communion, accountability and justice.”
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Editor’s
note: The full statement from Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Doherty can be found
at https://bit.ly/2MvN7yc.
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