BOSTON (MA)
Amherst Times
Written by KATIE ZEZIMA
Saturday, 08 April 2006
Efforts to change the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in the aftermath of the crisis of sexual abuse by clergymen have been hampered by diminished resources, according to a report issued Friday.
"The greatest challenge presented to the archdiocese in 2005-6 is the slow pace of organizational and cultural change in the face of diminished human and financial resources," the report, compiled by an independent panel over two years, said. "This challenge is ignored at the peril of the church."
The report found that the archdiocese had taken significant steps to insure that children were protected. But, it added, the archdiocese has also suffered from spotty carrying out of many policies, most noticeably community healing and outreach, internal and external communication and preventative education programs. While the archdiocese has made a "solid beginning," the report said, "continuity and assimilation are serious tasks ahead."
The archdiocese has succeeded on several fronts, the report said: reaching settlements with hundreds of people who say they were abused by priests; establishing a network of therapists; running background checks on teachers and volunteers, and creating teams for preventing child abuse.