archdiocese of portland outlines policies on clergy sex abuse

8/9/2019 Archdiocese of Portland outlines policies on clergy sex abuse

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July12,2010

DearFriendsnChrist,

As cod's holypeople,we know hat we are called o embrace lifeof virtueand o

turn away rom sin.Over hepastdecadewe havebeenshamedover he revelationsof sinfulbehavior n thepartof clergy, eligious nd evensome aity n thisarchdiocese hichhas beenso harmfulo manyof our children. t a recentmeetingof the ExecutiveCommittee f theArchdiocesan astoralCouncil t was suggested

that inform ouonceagain boutwhatwe,as a church, redoing norder o assist

victimsandprotect hildren owand n the uture. t is a task hat we haveundertaken ith all seriousness. uraccomplishmentsn this respect, ven hough

theycannot n any way compensateor the harmdone n thepast,stillgiveus hope or

a futurewhereall God'schildren re ovedand cared or as Jesuswould.

I encourage ou o take ime o review his delineation f ourpresentpolicies nd

accomplishments.leaseoinme nprayinghatourpenance, alanced y a f irm

purpose f amendment,i l l rulybring bout ealing nd econcil iationmong l lthosewho havebeenaggr:evedn thismatter.God bless.

Sincerely ours n the Lord,

/s/ + JohnG. Vlazny

l\.4ostev.JohnG. VlaznyArchbishopf Portlandn Oregon



ill ARCHDIOCESE--

EorPonrraNo OJficeof theArchbtshop

ill INOREGON

Dioceses cross he UnitedStatesare re-examiningheirpolicies n clergymisconduct s theChurch n Europe acesaccusations f abuse n thosecountries.Mediacoverage fthese eventshas encouragedhe faithfulhere o queslionour ownpolicies. t seemsappropriate,hen, hat I should ellyou exactlywhatwe are doing nthis archdloceseo assure hatno child n our carc will ever be abused.

Childhood exualabuse s a widespread nd seriousproblem, ot only n theChurch, ut n societyat large. Thereare nowords hatcan adequately xpresshedamage hat abusecauses o a child'sspirit. There s no language hat can ullyexpress he sorrowof the Churchat this betrayal f trust. As Catholicswe are

committedo protecting uman ife and respectinghe dignityof everyhumanperson.This s a constant eaching n SacredScripture nd radition.Whenwe work ogether oprevent hildabuse,we are doingexactlywhat s expected i us as Church. lt is afundamental ay of beingaccounlable.

Here n westernOregonwe are not experiencinghe largenumberof complaintsthat we did several earsago, but his s no excuse or owering urguard. Ourintentisthat sexualabuseof minorswill neverhappenagainwithin he Archdiocese f Portland.The need o protect hildrenwhomay be at riskand he safetyof the communitywillalwaysbe paramount mongour concerns.

Through heseyears,we havedeveloped nd mproved rocedures nd policies

that reflectour concern. Even houghyouhavebeencontlnually pdated n lheCatholicSentinelandn otherannouncements.t seemsuseful o summarize urpolicies ere.

Our Office or ChildProtection^/ictimssistances commissionedo provide

ongoingemotional, sychologicalnd spiritual ervices o thosesexuallyabusedaschildren. t alsoseeks o expandand strengthen reventativecreening,rainingandeducation o that he children ndyouth n our programswill ind a safeenvironmentnthechurch.

An updated Code of Conduct or Clergy, Employees and yolunfeers has beenpromulgated ogether with Sfardards of Conduct or Persons working with Children. Allthesedocuments re available n the archdiocesanWebsite 4lt{€Igfulpdxllq.

All clergyand employees f the archdiocese, ur highschools,parishes ndparishschoolsare required o havebackgroundhecksat the time of placement.Thisbackgroundheck s renewedwhen hepersonmoves o a new ocationwithin hearchdiocese.Employee ackground hecksbecamea requirementn 1995as partofordinary iringprocedures.Backgoundchecks or volunteersworkingwith minors



wererequired eginningn 2002. This background heckmustbe renewedevery hreeyears. SinceSeptember, 007,59,919background heckshavebeen done or nearly25,000 ndividuals ho are employees r volunteers.

Anypriestor religious oming rom outside he archdiocese nd engaged n anypublicministryhere s required o havea Testimonial f Suitabilityrom his/herbishopor

majorsuperior. 1 727 estimonialsor priestshavebeenobtained o date. Thistestimonialmust be renewed f the priestcomes nto he archdiocese gainafteroneyear.

All clergyand employees f the archdiocese, rchdiocesan ighschools,parishes nd parishschoolsand volunteerswho work regularlywith children rerequiredo attend he Called o PrctectTeiningwithin he irst 60 days of workingwithminors. 15,541peoplehavebeen rained n thisprogram.Prior o this program, ,984peoplewere rained n he SafeEnvironment rcgram. An annualupdateoftraining srequiredor allclergyand all employees nd volunteerswho work regularlywithminors.

Prevention ducationor parentss offeredeveryyear n each archdiocesan

Iocation.Approximately 0,000parentsand adult amilymembershavehad hiseducation.Personalsafety.educationor children ttending rchdiocesan ighschools,parishschools, r parish eligious ducation r youthministry rogramss required obe offeredeveryyearat each ocation.Lastyear,about 18,000childrenwere rained.

Archdiocesanolicy equires ll personnelo reportsuspected hildabuse naccordance ithOregon aw. We encourage irect eporting f childabuse o civilauthorities.Any personwho hasreasonable ause o bblieve hat childabuse s apresent oncem s encouragedo report he suspected busedirectly o civilauthorities.Churchpersonnelwill cooperateullywith civilauthoritiesn their nvestigation f a childaouse eoon.

lf the accused s a priestor deacon,we also ollow he CanonLaw of the Churchregardingnvestigativerocedures.Accordingo CanonLaw, he archbishop eginsapreliminarynvestigation f the allegations gainst he cleric. n these circumstancesheaccused lericor employeewouldnormally e placedon administrativeeavepending

the outcome f the investigation.

The accused leric s encouragedo retain he assistance f civilandcanonicalcounsel.The preliminarynvestigationoncludeswhen here s sufUcient vidence orthe archbishoDo decidewhether t is orobable r not hata crimeunderCanonLawhas beencommitted.

lf there s sufficient videncehat sexualabuseof a minorhas occurred, hearchbishops requiredo reporthis indings o the Congregationor the Doctrine f theFaith CDF).The Congregationhen determines ow o pro@edwith thematter, akingintoconsiderationhe recommendationf the archbishop.

The archbishopmayplace urther estrictions pona clericwho has beenplacedon administrativeeave,such as hisplaceof residence.The clericmayalso be urgedvoluntarilyo complywith an appropriatemedicalandpsychologicalvaluation.



Whenevena single ctof sexual buse f a minor y a priest r deaconsadmitted r establishedccordingo aw, heoflendingriest rdeaconspermanentlyremovedromministry.

TheChafter or the Protection f Children nd YoungPeople equireshat eachdiocese ndarchdiocesestablish Ministry eview oard hat unctions s a

confidentialonsultativeody o thebishop.OurownArchdiocesaneview oard asbeenmeetingegularlyinceOctober, 002. t consists f 10members. he aypeoplenclude retired tateSupreme ourtjustice,n attorney,lwohysicians,clinical ocialworker, doctor f clinical sychology,n abuse urvivor, nd wo aypeople ithextensiveommunityxperiencenda priest.Thisboard dviseshearchbishopn hisassessmentf allegationsf sexual buse f minors nd nhisdeterminationf suitabilityor ministry.t also eviews iocesanolicies ndproceduresor dealing ith hesexual buse f minors.The eview oard eviewsthesematters oth etrospectivelyndprospectivelyndgives dvice n allaspects fresoonseseouiredn connection ith hese ases.

Likealldioceses,heArchdiocesef Portlands regularly uditedor tsadherenceo the Chafter ndNomsas wellas or he suitabllityf itsprogramsealingwith hesafety f children ndyoung eople.We havebeen ound ompliant ith heChafter nd Normsn every udit.Ournexton-site udit s scheduledor October f2010.

Asyourarchbishop,know hatnothing anundo hesufferinghalvictims aveendured nd am rulysorry or heirpain.Throughouthese ears, haveexpressedmyshame ndsorrow n many ccasions,ut know hatwordsarenotenough.Theefforts utlinedn hisdocumentreanexpressionf heaccountabilityf hearchdiocese.believehathealing nd econciliationancome hrough urprayersandsacrifice. or his eason, e havehad25EmberDays days fprayer nd asting)

forthehealing nd econciliationf victims.Therehavebeen16archdiocesan assesorprayer ervicesor hesame ntentionsnd havemetwithanyvictimwhohaswantedo meetwithme.

A person howisheso contacthearchdioceseboutpastorpresent hildabuse y

churchDersonnelancall503416-8810. heassistanceoordinatorilloffer o meetwith heperson ndofferoutreach hichmay nclude rofessionalounseling,piritualassistancer other ervices.

archdiocese of portland outlines policies on clergy sex abuse

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