By
BRIAN D. WALLACE
Fairfield County Catholic,
July 14, 2007
In the five years
since U.S. Catholic bishops adopted the Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People
at their landmark June 2002 meeting in Dallas, TX, dioceses across
the country have made significant strides to instill practices that
will ensure the safety of people of all ages, anywhere in the Church.
The positive changes
that followed the Charter were of great significance for Diocese
of Bridgeport, not only because of its own abuse crisis, but because
Bishop William Lori played an important role in drafting the Charter,
which has guided the Church's response to the crisis across the U.S.
SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT
of a Safe Environments Office in 2003, some 90,000 people in Fairfield
County have received awareness training or materials on the prevention
of sexual abuse. Heading the office, based at the Catholic Center, is
Erin Neil, M.S.W. "We need to be vigilant at all times," she says. (PHOTO
BY JOHN GLOVER)
Doing More
"The Charter
incorporates appropriate standards, codes of conduct, mandatory reporting,
screening, and training," says Bishop Lori. "The Catholic Church in
the United States, including the Diocese of Bridgeport, has done so
much to protect God's children, not just Catholic children but all children.
In fact, no organization or entity in the United States has done more
to ensure a Safe Environment than the Catholic Church."
In the Diocese of
Bridgeport alone, the statistics are staggering. Since the establishment
of a Safe Environments Office in 2003, some 90,000 people have received
awareness training or materials on the prevention of sexual abuse. This
includes 30,000 clergy, employees, and volunteers in diocesan departments,
all 87 parishes, 39 Catholic schools, and 23 Catholic Charities locations
who have undergone mandatory VIRTUS Protecting God's Children
training and a background check; 14,000 students in Catholic schools;
and more than 46,000 parents and, in some cases, grandparents. Over
the past four years, 1,330 Safe Environment training sessions have been
held in Fairfield County, in seven languages.
Three independent
audits have found the diocesan Safe Environments program is fully complaint
with the Charter and, in many cases, exceeds expectations. And, since
2002, there have been no reports of any new (current) cases of abuse
of a minor in any Church institution in Fairfield County or, in fact,
the entire state of Connecticut.
New Standard
"We accepted a challenge
to change, be proactive, and establish a new standard of vigilance in
the diocese and our community as a whole," Bishop Lori adds. "I believe
we have become an even more enlightened Church. Everyone who comes under
the care and guidance of the Diocese of Bridgeport must feel safe, fulfilled,
and enriched."
What is most remarkable
now, five years after the worst crisis of modern Catholicism, is how
much the Church has learned from the experience. Word from those who
work in the Diocese of Bridgeport and other dioceses across the country
is that the Safe Environment policies that were fostered by the Charter
have been integrated in the day-to-day life of the Church, from volunteers
serving at church fairs to young men studying for the priesthood.
While there is need
for healing and the full impact of the crisis may not be known for years,
the response formulated by the Charter has helped clergy and laity come
to terms with an issue that was originally nearly unspeakable.
Erin Neil, M.S.W.,
founding director of Safe Environments for the diocese, says that since
the child sexual abuse crisis came to the forefront in 2002, the diocese
has taken unprecedented steps to confront the issue, assist victims,
seek forgiveness, ensure the safety of minors, and restore credibility.
While training within the Diocese of Bridgeport has been nearly universal
and the hard work has been done, Neil says the diocese is committed
to continuing education, research, reviewing and updating policies,
and retaining awareness so that the safety of children remains a priority.
By
the Numbers
The Safe
Environment Initiative of the Diocese of Bridgeport was launched
in June 2003. Four years later, the program has achieved some
impressive statistics:
30,000
priests, deacons, religious, lay employees, volunteers, and
vendors have undergone VIRTUS Protecting God's Children awareness
training.
1,330
Safe Environment training sessions have been held, in 7
languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, Polish, Vietnamese,
Sign-Language.
19 training
sessions in mandated reporting have been conducted by the state
Department of Children & Family Services.
202
classroom training sessions have been held for children
and youth.
66
parishioners have become certified VIRTUS facilitators;
120 parishioners have become local Safe Environment coordinators.
14,000
children and youth undergone the McGruff Safe Kids or
Child Lures Prevention programs.
46,000
people have Safe Environment materials to review at home,
including parents and grandparents.
5,000
continuing ed online sessions have been logged at www.virtus.org.
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Cornerstones
"The four cornerstones
of our diocesan Safe
Environments Policy are awareness training, background checks, open
communication, and codes of conduct," Neil explains. Helping to implement
the policy are the Safe Environments Office, the lay-led Diocesan Sexual
Misconduct Review Board, and the Victims Assistance Coordinator. Additionally,
all 87 parishes have a Safe Environments coordinator and health and
safety committees that provide other safeguards for children.
Neil credits the
leadership of Bishop Lori, the 87 pastors, lay volunteers, and the technical
expertise of Catholic Charities with making the diocesan program a success.
"Catholic Charities
has been a tremendous resource," she says, noting that Catholic Charities
has coordinated the training of 14,000 children in the diocesan Catholic
school system and provided mental health services to victims, clergy,
and others.
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities
Vice President Bill Hoey has personally trained more than 1,000 people
and also serves as Victims Assistance Counselor along with Neil. He
says the diocese should be proud because it has trained more people
than much larger dioceses across the country and turned a difficult
situation around.
"Early VIRTUS
seminars were tense," Hoey recalls. "There was much vocal opposition
and anger expressed. What has been striking to me is the 180-degree
turnaround in people's reactions based on the complete commitment of
the program. At this point, Safe Environments training is considered
a routine part of the life of the diocese. The success of the program
has played a large role in producing that shift in people's opinions.
People see this as a core value of the diocese, not simply compliance
with a mandate."
Eloquent Testimony
Neil believes that
resistance was worn down by the acceptance of people themselves. Early
responses, such as "I am offended that you would ask for a background
check," or "This is clergy problem, not a lay problem," soon changed
to acceptance as the parents themselves provided eloquent testimony
through parish bulletins and other sources.
Tim Dineen of Our
Lady of Fatima Parish in Wilton has been involved in Safe Environments
since the beginning. He remembers a story in Fairfield County Catholic
about a new training program and thinking, "Who would want to do
that?"
But the more he
thought about it, the more he felt he might be able to help. The retired
Union Carbine employee was always involved in his parish and was aware
that the Church was going through a difficult time. He remembers that
the early sessions were quite heated, with many parishioners feeling
they were being unduly put upon for a problem that was not of their
making.
"I let them vent
in the group and then got on with the presentation," he remembers. "Most
left the training feeling positive, realizing they hadn't understood
child sexual abuse or how to detect and prevent it."
Parents and Grandparents
Erlinda Zelaya,
a bilingual VIRTUS trainer, has been instrumental in delivering
the training to the Hispanic community in the Norwalk area. As Safe
Environments coordinator for Saint Mary Parish in Norwalk, she also
has seen a decrease in resistance to the training.
"Almost everyone
who attends a training session is either a parent or grandparent," she
says, "and they walk away from the training with their eyes opened to
things they haven't thought about. Many begin to think twice about where
there own children are going, who is watching them, and how best to
protect them."
Liz Harakal, director
of religious education at Saint Stephen Parish in Trumbull, also believes
that most adults are over the upset they may have initially experienced.
As a veteran public school teacher for 34 years, she welcomed the training
and continues to find new ways to safeguard the 117 children who come
to the parish for religious education.
New Perspective
"The training is
really a worthwhile effort," she says. "You go away with a whole different
perspective and realization. The world of today is not the one we lived
in 40 years ago. We have to be proactive." Harakal makes sure doors
are locked once classes begin and that children are never unattended.
Harakal believes
time is healing wounds, perhaps in part because the Safe Environments
program has been so successful in coming to terms with a deeply unsettling
problem. She believes personal faith helped put the crisis in perspective.
"It never lessened
my faith," she concludes. "We all make mistakes, and we all seek forgiveness.
Our faith in Jesus Christ keeps us going, and strengthens our resolve
to never let this happen again."
(To learn more
about the Safe Environments program of the Diocese of Bridgeport, call
Erin Neil: 416-1406, or click
here.)
A
conversation with Erin Neil, M.S.W.
"We've
entered a healing stage as a Diocese"
By BRIAN D. WALLACE
Fairfield County Catholic,
July 14, 2007
Erin Neil, M.S.W.,
is the founding director of the Office of Safe Environments for the
Diocese of Bridgeport, which opened in 2003. When the 29- year old social
worker stepped into the new position during the middle of the abuse
crisis, one could easily have wondered how she would fare. But four
years later, Neil has overseen a program that has gained national recognition
and passed three independent audits.
On the fifth anniversary
of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,
Fairfield County Catholic sat down with Neil to reflect on the
challenges and successes.
In
your view, what has been our greatest accomplishment as a diocese in
responding to the sexual abuse crisis?
It's important
to recognize how well the VIRTUS Protecting God's Children
Program has been integrated into parish life. Now we all think
in terms of Safe Environments. We use the term across the board when
going forward with any programs or plans.
I think we've
entered a healing stage; we don't see the same level of resistance
going forward. But we need to be vigilant at all times. It is easy
to get "Charter fatigue" because people feel that we've done
it and been through it and are ready to move on. We have to remind
ourselves that we can't become complacent.
"CATHOLIC CHARITIES
has been a tremendous resource in Safe Environment training," says Erin
Neil, conferring with Catholic Charities Vice President and Certified
Trainer Bill Hoey. (PHOTO BY JOHN GLOVER)
There
appeared to be a groundswell of resistance when the diocese first introduced
the program. How did you overcome this?
Originally, some
people would say, "I never hurt anyone," or "Priests have the problem,
not us." It took a lot of one-on-one communication to explain things.
People had to see that they were asked to take the training because
they had an important role to play in protecting children. It wasn't
about them, but about what we all needed to do to contribute to a
Safe Environment.
Ultimately, one
of the most powerful things was the positive testimony of parents
who took the training. This changed the culture. People realized they
could indeed do something to protect children.
Has
the training been mandated for priests and religious as well as lay
employees, volunteers, vendors, and contractors?
Yes. Every priest,
deacon, and religious Sister who works in the diocese has gone through
the training. Even priests who work in parishes for only the summer
must be trained.
We've also trained
more than 250 vendors and independent contractors. We don't take much
of their time, but they see how serious we are about it and they learn
that they, too, can play a part in protecting kids. It can be a powerful
deterrent.
Kids are naturally
curious around a work or construction site. That's why we require
background checks and bring the video to the job site. Some companies
like Pongo the Clown Company in Norwalk that deal with kids all the
time are looking forward to the training. It's good for their business.
Training
more than 14,000 children and teens in Catholic schools must have been
a challenge, given the sensitivity of the issue.
Catholic Charities
has been a tremendous resource. Having one counselor from Catholic
Charities present the program has eliminated consistency problems
that other dioceses have experienced. When we introduced the program,
parents could meet with the counselor, get a look at the material
and how it would be presented, and know that it would be the same
from parish to parish, school to school. They were prepared to move
forward.
Children get training
delivered annually, and we're always adding new modules such as Internet,
cellphone, and technology safety, and even cyber protection from bullying.
It
appears now that the dust has settled on the entire issue, people are
able to put it in perspective, not only in terms of sexual abuse, but
the challenge to the larger society.
Statistically,
child abuse is committed by heterosexuals, most of whom are married
with children. New studies have shown us that females also can be
perpetrators. With respect to priests, the John Jay Study commissioned
by the U.S. bishops found that 3-4 percent of all the priests from
1950-2002 were involved.
It is important
to note that there is an ongoing effort to understand the causes and
context of abuse by priests within the Church. We're one of the only
a few major institutions in the U.S. that has ever undergone a study
of this nature and scope.
Our
awareness of child sexual abuse has changed dramatically in the aftermath
of the crisis. Today, we talk of things that would have been unmentionable
in the past. Is the program working?
Yes. There have
been no cases of current abuse in the past five years, and we've seen
a significant decline in cases from decades ago. We don't know if
more victims will come forward, but we do know that things have changed.
In the past there wasn't a place for people to come to with a complaint;
people were reluctant to disclose abuse. Today, every U.S. diocese
has a Victims Assistance Coordinator. We're much more open as a society
and more aware of the problem and its warning signs. That bodes well
for the future.
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