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	Detroit Archdiocese Steps up Initiative to Protect Children Archdiocese Using Workshops, Hot Line, Background Checks By Niraj Warikoo Detroit Free Press April 26, 2010 http://www.freep.com/article/20100426/NEWS05/4260309/Detroit-archdiocese-steps-up-initiative-to-protect-children In the basement of a Catholic church in Grosse Pointe Park, a police detective urged the crowd to help protect children from sexual abuse. "Ultimately, it's up to you to get involved," Grosse Pointe Park Police Detective David Loch said last week at St. Clare of Montefalco. "You have to take an active role." The advice came during a training workshop that is part of an ambitious effort by the Archdiocese of Detroit over the past six years to help prevent abuse. In light of new reports about whether Catholic leaders properly handled abusive clergy, the Archdiocese of Detroit says it is recommitting itself to protecting children. "This is our highest priority ... helping kids be safe," Archbishop Allen Vigneron, head of the archdiocese, told the Free Press. Now, the archdiocese is to roll out an online training program on abuse prevention to complement programs that were created after the abuse scandal erupted in 2002. So far, it has trained almost 65,000 employees and others who are in contact with children in Catholic parishes and schools. An additional 50,000 children and teens have been educated in similar workshops since 2004. Reforms grow amid abuse uproar Vigneron was a bishop in California, he met personally with victims of abuse and visited every parish where a predator had molested children. It was an experience that he draws on today as head of the Archdiocese of Detroit. "We are working to change ... to repent, to do better," Vigneron told the Free Press. His efforts come at a time of decreasing confidence in how Vatican officials deal with abusive clergy, according to a poll released this month by the Pew Research Center. Only about one-third of American Catholics praise how Pope Benedict XVI has addressed the sex abuse scandal, down from 49% two years ago. About 59% rate him as doing a poor job or only fair. A growing frustration Those frustrations can be heard locally. "It was pushed, shoved and hidden," Sengstock, a 33-year-old mother from Macomb Township, said. "And it was swept under the carpet -- as opposed to dealing with it head on. That would have prevented a lot of the abuse." Pat Schock, 67, of Ann Arbor said she is so upset that she left the Catholic church this month after 40 years because of the abuse scandal. "I used to think the church that had the greatest moral standards was the Catholic church," Schock said. But in the abuse cases, "there was a lack of moral outrage." Asked about her concerns, Vigneron said: "I deeply regret for any sin that is found in the members of the church, certainly among the members of the clergy, bishops, priests. ... I'd ask her to be patient, and to join her prayers with ours, and to stay with the family. And hope we get healthier." At the same time, Vigneron said the evidence shows that the amount of abuse within the church is not greater than it is in the larger society, pointing to statistics in a 2004 report on church abuse by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. And he said that in some of the recent news media coverage, "facts were presented out of context." Some lay Catholics fear the church is being singled out unfairly by the news media. "Some make it seem like it was something more within the Catholic community," said Barbara Madden, 33, of Warren. "I don't agree with that. It was publicized more because of the shock value." Vigneron said, however, that media attention ultimately may have helped because "in so far as it keeps us focused, well, then we can get some good out of it." A major effort in Detroit In 2002, the Catholic church was hit with a number of complaints and reports about abusive priests that ignited an uproar. It prompted a series of reforms in Catholic parishes across the U.S., including in the Archdiocese of Detroit, with its 1.3 million Catholics. Officials in the Detroit archdiocese rolled out an initiative called Safe Environments, which encompassed several new policies, such as criminal background checks for employees, safety instruction for teens and workshops called Protecting God's Children. Available in English, Spanish and Polish, the three-hour workshops have trained 65,000 adults on how to spot predators and abuse, the archdiocese said. More than 1,000 have been held On Tuesday night inside St. Clare of Montefalco, a Catholic parish in Grosse Pointe Park, about 30 people gathered for a Protecting God's Children workshop taught by Detective David Loch of the Grosse Pointe Park Police, who investigates sexual abuse of minors in his work and is an observant Catholic. Many who attended the session were to be chaperones for upcoming field trips in Catholic schools and so -- like any others who come into contact with children -- were required to take the class. "Some of what you're going to see is not easy," Loch told the crowd. As the lights dimmed, a video recording played stories of abuse victims and predators. "He did it again and again and again," one woman said on the tape about her abuser. "You can stop this evil," a voiceover said, "in your parish, in your neighborhood, in the world." Such programs "really open up people's eyes and ears to try and create a safe environment for kids," said Msgr. G. Michael Bugarin, the archbishop's delegate for clergy sexual misconduct. "We're very serious about these programs." Local parishes also have undergone audits to see if their churches are safe. At Bugarin's church, St. Joan of Arc Parish in St. Clair Shores, for example, new lighting was installed in previously dark corners to ensure all areas were well-lit and could not be used by predators. Chrissy Sengstock's husband, Ben Sengstock, 32, attended Loch's class with her. It was required because their child is to enter a Catholic school. "Very informative," he said of the workshop. "And it's good it's taught by a professional." A divide over the pope But Sengstock criticized how the pope and other Catholic officials have dealt with abusive priests. "He should have been more open," Sengstock said. "Don't move a problem." Schock agreed. She was particularly upset with the reports of an abusive priest at a school for deaf children in Milwaukee, given that she has children and grandchildren who live near Milwaukee. Schock used to give money to Catholic food pantries. But now, she said, "When I think of giving money to the Catholic church, I'm thinking: 'Is this being used to pay for a legal settlement?' " in abuse cases. "They're not accountable to us," she said. Vigneron, however, said that the pope is "not afraid of the truth." "He was exemplary in taking charge, and dealing with the issue (of abuse) forthrightly, and getting to the truth," Vigneron said. "I'm convinced he understands." In Michigan too, preventing abuse is a top priority, Vigneron said. "We are completely dedicated," he said, "to make sure kids are safe."
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