| 'A Great Audit' |
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| Tuesday, 06 November 2007 03:33 | |||
 Archbishop Henry J. Mansell I have said it and written it many times before: sexual abuse of a minor is a heinous act, a heart-sickening event, a grievous sin, and a crime. When it is committed by a member of the clergy, the evil is compounded. That said, sexual abuse of minors by clergy is a small fraction of the larger problem in the United States. Over 52 years, 1.43 percent of the priests of the Archdiocese of Hartford have been accused of it. Many of them are deceased and do not have an opportunity to defend themselves. One case is one case too many, however, and we must do all in our power to make sure it does not happen again. Sexual abuse of minors is an immense societal problem. If we can believe the polls (remember what Harry Truman said: “If Moses had followed the polls, he would never have gotten out of Egypt,” but polls do give us some sense of what is happening), when adult men and women are asked about the incidence of sexual abuse in their lives as minors, the responses indicate that tens of millions of people in our country have been victims of sexual abuse as minors. The Catholic Church has reacted vigorously to the problem. In Dallas, in June 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a landmark document in response to the crisis of sexual abuse of children in the Church, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, setting forth our agreed-upon responsibilities in combating the problem. To make the goals of a safe environment within the Church effective for children and young people, the Charter outlines a series of practical and pastoral steps to be taken in every Catholic diocese in the United States, stating that each diocese is mandated to have safe environment programs in place in every parish to assist parents and children, and those who work with children, in preventing harm to young people. Over the succeeding years, the principles and procedures of the Charter have been integrated into Church life through the national Office for Child and Youth Protection and through the National Review Board. Their responsibilities include conducting an annual audit and preparing a public report describing the compliance of each diocese to the Charter’s provisions. This year’s audit for the Archdiocese of Hartford was recently completed. During the week of Sept. 10-14, 2007, auditors from The Gavin Group Inc., an independent auditing firm selected by the Office of Child and Youth Protection, investigated and evaluated how well the Archdiocese is implementing the provisions of the Charter. The audit consisted of interviews, policy review, review of documents, and visits with diocesan and parish personnel. I will remember for a long time the opening words of the lead auditor in the closing interview: “A great audit.” He stated that the Archdiocese is 100 percent compliant with all of the Articles of the Charter and went on to say that the Archdiocese does more than the Charter requires. The auditors emphasized that our Office of Safe Environment is a fine example of Best Practices, due in large part to the strong leadership in the Archdiocese. They indicated that we have excellent people working in the Archdiocese. To that I say, with profound gratitude, “Amen!” and proceed with the audit highlights: • The Archdiocese has a victim assistance coordinator, Sister Mary Kelly, C.S.J., who oversees the Office of Safe Environment. • The Archdiocese has a five-member Review Board, which serves as a confidential consultative body to the Archbishop. • The Archdiocese has a policy in place to prevent the sexual abuse of minors, and to deal with any allegations, should they arise, and to report such cases to public authorities. • The Archdiocese has established clear and well-publicized standards of ministerial behavior for priests and deacons, and employs screening and evaluative techniques in deciding the fitness of candidates for ordination. • The Archdiocese conducts background evaluations on all personnel who have regular contact with minors and vulnerable adults. • The Archdiocese has fully implemented a “Safe Environment” education program, which includes components for children, adults, teachers, parents and clergy. • A communication policy is in effect which reflects the Archbishop’s pledge to be open and transparent on matters regarding the sexual abuse of children. Again, I remind all that our Archdiocesan policy requires that all priests, deacons, Catholic school employees, parish employees, and any volunteers who have contact with children must undergo a background check and attend the Virtus program, Protecting God’s Children for Adults™. In addition, all children in Catholic schools and religious education programs are presented with the Child Lures Prevention program, Think First and Stay Safe™. The results of our audit, along with the results from other dioceses, will be published by the national office in a few months. As the auditors were leaving our final meeting, I asked them if I could let our people know our results before that national report is issued. The lead auditor replied, “Absolutely. We wish that you would. The people should know all the good work going on.” Conscious that we must remain ever vigilant, I write this report with deep appreciation and grateful prayers for all who have made possible “A Great Audit.”
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