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	Archbishop Calls for Review of Sexual Abuse Procedures By Leslie Scrivener Toronto Star April 16, 2010 http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/796817--archbishop-calls-for-review-of-sexual-abuse-procedures Catholic Archbishop Thomas Collins is calling for a panel of lay people — most will be women — to review the way the church handles allegations of sexual abuse by priests. The announcement is part of a pastoral letter to be read as a sermon at every Sunday mass in all 225 Catholic parishes in the Great Toronto Area. It comes as scandal upon scandal — priests abusing children, their superiors failing to report them — sweeps through the church in Europe and North America. The seven or eight members of the panel — who will include experts in child welfare, victim advocacy, psychology and ethics — won’t be announced until it is fully formed, possibly next week. Collins had already spoken to priests about the scandals in his Chrism Mass held during Easter Week. “This is an opportunity to speak directly to his flock,” communications director Neil MacCarthy said Friday. “It’s a feeling that a message should be consistent across the archdiocese, that comes from him and from the heart. It is something people were looking for.” In his visits through the archdiocese, Collins has heard from church members saying they want direction from the leadership, MacCarthy said. Collins, who was unavailable for an interview Friday, has asked the panel to report by July 31. Its recommendations will be part of a new misconduct protocol in place by the fall. Priests and others with pastoral duties will then be asked to discuss how to best respond to sexual abuse, Collins says in his message. Preventative measures have made the Catholic community a much safer place than in the past, Collins says. “In the archdiocese of Toronto, for more than 20 years, we have operated under sound protocols and procedures to deal with any accusation of misconduct, and they have served us well.” Those measures were introduced in 1989 and revised in 1991 and 2003. “It was on a schedule of things to look at before the current issue presented itself,” MacCarthy said. One possible area of review may be the protocol that the church is not required to report to police an allegation of abuse, when the complainant comes forward as an adult. The church says that often victims do not want to go through a criminal trail. The text of Collins’ sermon is on the archdiocese website archtoronto.org, translated in five languages, and is also on video. The archbishop has been invited by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to join Canada’s delegation to Poland this weekend. If Europe-bound flights are not allowed because of volcanic ash, Collins will deliver the sermon at St. Michael’s Cathedral on Sunday.
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