Report:
Archdiocese exceeds
child protection guidelines
By CS&T Staff
The
Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been found to be in complete compliance
with the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People”
by an independent Boston-based auditing firm, the Gavin Group.
In fact, the audit report finds that in many ways the Archdiocese has
exceeded the standard set by the Catholic bishops of the United States
in its efforts to protect children and minister to the victims of sexual
abuse.
“They have really started some initiatives in the Archdiocese that
go above and beyond what the charter requires, and they are addressing
issues that will probably be considered in the future by the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops,” said William Gavin, president of
the Gavin Group and a former FBI counterterrorism specialist.
Gavin’s company, which includes 50 retired FBI agents, was hired
to audit 191 of the 195 Catholic dioceses nationwide regarding their compliance
to the charter, which mandates reporting, clear procedures, and effective
responses to allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy.
Some of those initiatives include maintaining filters on archdiocesan
computer systems that block all pornographic or inappropriate content
from work computors, as well as tracking archdiocesan clergy who have
substantiated allegations against them of sexual abuse of minors, Gavin
said.
“I think they are really leading forward in the foxhole and doing
a good job,” he added.
The Archdiocese provides age-appropriate training in all its Catholic
schools, as well as in all parish religious education programs. That means
every year children are taught about appropriate and inappropriate touch,
and what to do if they are ever in a potentially abusive situation.
“The audit demonstrates that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is
committed to taking the preventive steps necessary for the protection
of children,” Cardinal Justin Rigali said. “I want to particularly
thank the pastors for their commitment of time and leadership in making
this an important and sustained element of parish life.”
In addition, the curriculum used in each grade level is posted on the
Web site of the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education, found at www.catholicschools-phl.org.
Parents can see, participate in and reinforce the training, according
to Karen Becker, the director of the archdiocesan Office for Child and
Youth Protection.
“Safe Environment Prevention is everyone’s responsibility,”
Becker said. “Being compliant in that area is a great accomplishment
and recognizes the significant contributions by many people at the local
level to make that happen. It’s a difficult task but one that each
year we try to make more and more systematic.”
The Archdiocese also has a stringent security clearance process required
for each person working with children within the Archdiocese, based on
the guidelines of Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare. As
part of the Safe Environment Program, the background checks must be updated
every five years.
“We don’t make exceptions,” said Joan Fogarty, the business
manager at St. Agnes Parish in West Chester. She oversees the implementation
of the Safe Environment Program at her parish.
“If you are volunteering in the school, going on a school trip,
selling juice at the cafeteria, it doesn’t matter. You have to get
security clearance,” Fogarty said. “With the number of children
that people come in contact with, it is very important that we do everything
we can to make the children be in a safe environment, whether it’s
at school or at a C.Y.O program.”
Fogarty said she has found great support from her pastor, Msgr. Edward
Deliman, and the parents, volunteers and staff, who all do their part
to make her work easier.
“Another way we have exceeded the charter is by hiring Renee Devine
to audit and monitor compliance in our schools and parishes,” Becker
said. “She audits and checks for criminal history and child abuse
clearances on site, and [makes sure] that safe environment training has
been completed, as well as [assisting] individual parishes in carrying
out the process.”
Devine said she has been encouraged by what she has found.
“I’m finding that everybody I’ve dealt with understands
the necessity of this program and they are trying very hard to implement
all of the standards and recommendations that the Archdiocese has in place
for this,” said Devine, the archdiocesan Safe Environment Program
auditor. “Most of them are having great success.”
The Gavin Group audit also addressed how well the Archdiocese has incorporated
aspects of the charter in terms of investigating allegations, reaching
out to victims of sexual abuse, providing counseling and ministering to
victims.
In that respect, the auditors have also found the Archdiocese in full
compliance, and specifically commended the Archdiocese for the Office
for Child and Youth Protection’s Web site, www.adphila.org/protection.
It lists all archdiocesan clergy who have substantiated allegations, with
photos and updated information, as well as information about those individuals
with cases pending.
The site also has the full coverage video of the Witness to the Sorrow
event, held in 2006, in which Cardinal Rigali, the auxiliary bishops and
the priests of the Archdiocese heard testimonies of victims of sexual
abuse by members of the clergy.
“When you talk about openess and transparency, they are a perfect
example of it,” Gavin said.
The Web site also has valuable information to assist victims, as well
as parents or anyone inquiring about the safety procedures that are in
place or about the various types of assistance available to victims.
“We are fully compliant,” said Becker, “but we also
recognize that we have so much more to do.”
“We know that education and awareness are key to the prevention
of child sexual abuse,” added Evelyn Brannan Tarpey, the archdiocesan
Safe Environment coordinator. “There are initiatives in which the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia exceeds the requirements of the charter, because
we understand that what we are doing is in the spirit of the third promise
of the charter — ‘to protect the faithful in the future.’
Our sorrow concerning child sexual abuse strengthens our desire to do
all in our power to protect children.”
If you or someone you know have experienced an incident of sexual abuse
by clergy, an employee or volunteer of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
please contact the office of the Victim Assistance Coordinators at: 1-888-800-8780
or e-mail: philavac@adphila.org.