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	Non-Monetary Commitments of the Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph SNAP-Great Plains August 23, 2008 http://snap-greatplains.org/Wisconsin/My_Homepage_Files/Page12.html 1. Through a press statement to the secular media and through publication in The Catholic Key, the Diocese will continue to publicly acknowledge the wrongfulness of sexual abuse by the perpetrators, and will acknowledge that its own response to reports of sexual abuse has, in the past, been wrong. 2. The Diocese will continue its long-standing offer to provide counseling to all victims of sexual abuse and their immediate family members, at the expense of the Diocese. The plaintiffs collectively shall appoint an individual of their choice to act as an intermediary between plaintiffs and the Diocese in order to facilitate the provision of independent therapy for any plaintiff for a maximum of twenty four (24) sessions. 3. The Diocese will not provide a reference or recommendation for purposes of prospective employment with respect to any priest, nun, deacon, lay employee or volunteer of the Diocese who has been credibly accused of sexual abuse. If the Diocese receives a request for such a reference or recommendation, the Diocese will respond that it will not provide such a reference or recommendation, except in the case where a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse has been filed, in which case the Diocese will inform the prospective employer of that fact. 4. The Diocese will provide a letter advising state licensed professional counseling boards that Thomas Reardon has been the subject of lawsuits charging him with sexual abuse and other misconduct involving minors, and that the Diocese is therefore unable to provide a favorable reference or recommendation in connection with any application by Reardon for a license to perform counseling services. 5. The Diocese acknowledges that Fr. Thomas O'Brien is performing no public ministry, including the public administration of sacraments. 6. The Diocese will publish a pastoral statement that rites or sacraments performed or administered by priests or deacons are not diminished, flawed or tainted because the priest or deacon has been accused of misconduct. 7. The Bishop of the Diocese will send a letter to any plaintiff or member of plaintiff's family who requests such a letter, apologizing for the harm caused by the abuse and acknowledging that the plaintiff was not at fault for the abuse. 8. The Diocese and its representatives shall not refer to plaintiffs or other tort claimants and their claims as "alleged" victims, "alleged" survivors, or "alleged" claims. 9. The Diocese intends to initiate laicization procedures for former priests Thomas Reardon, Hugh Monahan and Stephen Wise and will consult with canon lawyers regarding these procedures. 10. The Diocese will continue to offer and implement a Victim Advocacy Program consistent with VirtusTM guidelines, in order to maintain safe , strong communities for children and vulnerable adults. 11. The name and contact information of the Diocesan Victim's Advocate will be published on the Diocese's web site and will be included in parish bulletins along with the names of parish staff. 12. The Missouri Abuse Hotline phone number shall be prominently posted in every parish school, office and workplace. 13. The Diocese shall prominently display in each diocesan school a placard stating: "The Abuse of the Spiritual, Emotional and Moral Development of the Young Men and Women of [Name of School] shall not be tolerated." The placard will include the telephone numbers of the Missouri Abuse Hotline, the local police department, and the Diocesan Victim's Advocate. 14. The Diocese will continue to follow mandatory state reporting requirements and VirtusTM guidelines in reporting the suspected sexual abuse of minors to law enforcement and child protection authorities. At the request of the victim or other party reporting childhood sexual abuse to the Diocese, the Diocese will report such abuse to law enforcement and child protection authorities regardless of the age of the victim at the time the report is made. 15. The Diocese will continue to require its priests, administrators, teachers, staff, coaches, volunteers and students to complete the VirtusTM "Protecting God's Children" training, or similar training performed and/or developed by outside consultants, for the prevention of sexual abuse and harassment. 16. On or before December 31, 2008, the Diocese will adopt a whistle-blower policy providing that the Diocese shall take no retaliatory action against any person who reports in good faith the suspected sexual abuse of a minor by a priest, employee or other representative of the Diocese. 17. The Diocese will not enforce the confidentiality provisions of any prior agreement with a sexual abuse claimant who now or in the future desires to make his/her claim public. 18. The Diocese has enacted policies concerning sexual assault, misconduct and harassment including procedural steps that will be followed once reports are made and to whom reports are to be made. The Diocese agrees to provide copies of those policies to counsel for claimants. 19. The victims have requested that the Bishop of the Diocese personally visit any parish where sexual abuse of minors occurred. The victims have further requested that at these meetings the Bishop publicly identify the perpetrators, encourage other victims to report the abuse, provide an opportunity for discussion with the audience, and invite victims or their families to speak. The Bishop has stated that he will consider this or some other process that will achieve the same goal.
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