BishopAccountability.org
	The Priest's Pledge By Tom Myles National Survivor Advocates Coalition June 15, 2011 http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/editorials/ The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is holding its annual meeting June 15 through June 18, 2011 in Bellevue, Washington. One item on the agenda is the revision of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Since its preparation in 2002 and later revision, the bishops have invested an inordinate amount of time and effort on a useless twenty-page charter. It is indeed futile to dissect this furtive document. However, these are some key reasons why the document is a failure: The Charter does not provide compensation for sexual abuse victims. The Charter does not recognize that most victims, between 90 and 99%, never make an allegation. The USCCB has no authority to enforce the document. The Charter gives no responsibility to the laity. Despite the bishops' rhetoric, the vast majority of Catholics have no knowledge of the Charter There is no independent audit of Dioceses' compliance with the Charter. Articles 6 and 12 of the Charter call for widely-publicized standards of conduct for clergy and youth workers, but these standards of conduct remain well-hidden. Just ask any Catholic if they know what the standards are. The Charter imposes no penalty for a violation of the standards of conduct. The members of the lay review board are appointed by the bishop, proceedings of lay review boards remain secret, and the board's only stated function is to "advise" the bishop. The Charter does not give any penalties for priests and bishops who have in the past, or in the future, conceal credibly-alleged sexual abusers from the public. Instead of producing or revising another similar document, the Catholic bishops would be wise to revoke the document and replace it with a simple one-page document, The Priest's Pledge. The intent of the Priest's Pledge is to have each and every priest take responsibility for his actions and inactions in concealing a priest for whom there has been a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a child. Full endorsement of The Priest's Pledge will benefit three constituencies: Primarily it will aid the victims, but the laity and the priesthood will also benefit. First of all, it helps victims. It is conservatively estimated that there have been more than a half million children abused by priests. By the bishops' own self-reporting, the original John Jay Study enumerated 4392 priest for whom there has been a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. Coupled with the information provided by the National Institute of Mental Health that the typical male child abuser has 117 victims in his lifetime, it is easy to calculate that most victims remain anonymous. Further, the Diocese of Rockville Centre reported on its website that only between 1% and 10% of incidents of sexual abuse of a minor are ever reported. The Church can help all these victims by disclosing all its secrets. Much too often victims suffer the effects of their abuse silently, and for decades without anyone else knowing of their plight. What a burden this must be! Often victims do not come forward because of the fear that their accusations will not be believed. Many victims who have come forward say it is almost just as painful as their pain of sexual abuse because Church authorities not only are not receptive, but also pressure them to remain quiet, or deny the accusation outright. The Church is funded by voluntary contributions by the laity. While many Catholics still contribute to the Church, thousands have left the Catholic Church. Full disclosure of activities that led to the concealment of known abusers within the priesthood will go a long way to restoring trust in the Church hierarchy. Since the expose' of the sexual abuse crisis by The Boston Herald in 2002, a number of priests have complained that a dark cloud hovers over all priests because of the misdeeds of a small number of other priests. When all the facts are known, the cloud will only be over the abusers and those who conspired to conceal the abusers. It is a burden to hold information from others. Surely release of all information will have a cathartic effect on sexual abuse victims, the laity, and the priesthood. We therefore strongly recommend that each and every priest, bishop, and the Pope take The Priest's Pledge. The Priest's Pledge I, an ordained priest in the Catholic Church, know that hundreds of thousands of children were abused by my brother priests. I take responsibility for being a part of this organization that has done so much harm to victims. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People states: "We now re-affirm that we will assist in the healing of those who have been injured, will do all in our power to protect children and young people, and will work with our clergy, religious, and laity to restore trust and harmony in our faith communities, as we pray for God's kingdom to come, here on earth, as it is in heaven." In keeping with the spirit of the Charter I pledge to do the following: I pledge to reveal all I know about the concealment of priests for whom there has been a credible allegation that he sexually abused a minor. I will publicly disclose to each parish or institution where I served the details of such concealment. I will report to the appropriate law enforcement agencies the same details. I also further pledge to ardently urge my fellow priests, bishops, and the Pope to reveal all they know. Finally, I apologize to the communities in which I served, and especially to victims, most of whom choose to remain anonymous.
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