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	Diocese Holding "Evening of Repentance" for Clergy Abuse Victims By Steven Spearie State Journal-Register November 25, 2011 http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x126211652/Catholic-diocese-to-hold-evening-of-repentance-for-victims-of-clergy-abuse The Catholic Diocese of Springfield will hold a prayer service and evening of repentance next month, with the primary focus being on victims of clergy sexual abuse cases in the diocese. Detractors say the effort is nothing more than a public relations tool. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will preside at the Monday, Dec. 12, service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue. Services will be held simultaneously at six other churches in Edwardsville, Mount Zion, Teutopolis, Jacksonville, Hillsboro and Quincy. It’s the first time a public event like this has been conducted by the diocese, according to Patricia Kornfeld, the diocese’s victims assistance coordinator. The impetus was the desire of the diocese “to express repentance and forgiveness for the sins of the past,” Kornfeld said. “I think (Bishop Paprocki) thinks it’s outreach that hasn’t been done in the past,” she said. The timing of the service in the wake of the child abuse sex scandal at Penn State University, which brought down longtime head football coach Joe Paterno and several school administrators, was coincidental, Kornfeld said. Diocesan administrators talked about the service as early as the spring and planning began in earnest in September, she said. “The two have no connection other than the unfortunate subject matter,” she said. Kornfeld said her office has contacted people who were victims of clerical sexual abuse specifically about the service. Some victims do not want outreach of any kind, she said. Kornfeld added that there may be other reasons some of those victims were not contacted by the diocese. “We knew the circumstances and looked at each case to determine if it was a good idea or a bad idea (to contact them),” she said. Eight local cases? BishopAccountability.org, which maintains a database of publicly accused priests, lists eight cases from the Springfield diocese, which is made up of 28 counties in a band across the state. David Clohessy, a spokesman for the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said SNAP suspects that “the real numbers are considerably higher.” In a statement issued last week, SNAP urged Paprocki to apologize for and explain why his predecessor, the Most Rev. George Lucas, now archbishop of Omaha, Neb., “waited years to disclose clergy child sex crimes.” “I would reiterate,” Kornfeld said, “that the diocese has the same goals as SNAP: to help those who have been harmed as much as humanly possible and to do all in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again.” An 18-month investigation of the diocese culminated in a 2006 report that noted serious misconduct, though by a small number of priests. Most egregiously, the report stated that former Bishop Daniel Ryan, who retired in 1999, engaged in sexual misconduct with adults and used his office to conceal the actions. The investigation found “a culture of secrecy fostered under Bishop Ryan’s leadership which discouraged faithful priests from coming forward with information about misconduct.” Ryan, whom the Springfield diocese refers to as “a private citizen,” was living in Naperville as of 2010. Last summer, SNAP suggested Paprocki publicly post on the diocese’s website the names of the diocese’s offending clerics. That came in response to allegations against a Franciscan priest, the Rev. Henry Willenborg, who had served in Quincy from 1976 to 1987, that he had fathered the child of a Quincy woman he had been counseling and abused a Quincy minor while serving at a Franciscan-run seminary. (Quincy is part of the Springfield Diocese.) Paprocki responded that “no claims of misconduct or sex abuse of a minor” had been brought against Willenborg. He also assured SNAP, in a published letter, that no priests with proven, admitted or credible accusations of child abuse are ministering in the diocese. ‘Difficult to trust’ In a telephone interview last week, Clohessy said he wasn’t moved by the diocese’s plans for the prayer services. “For years, bishops have worked hard to persuade us that the sex abuse crisis was in the past,” said Clohessy. “This is one more component of a public relations drive. “Ten, 15 or 20 years ago, this might have felt differently. It’s hard to give a bishop credit for talking about abuse.” While victims of clergy sexual abuse are the main focus of the evening, Kornfeld said there are other ways people think they may have been harmed by the church: those who have felt a loss by a parish closing or by other pastoral planning and those who have been harmed in some way by parish staff members. In addition to prayers for those harmed by the church, there will be a candlelighting and a homily by Paprocki. That homily also will be read at the other services. Kornfeld said she hopes victims will leave the services with “a little sense of peace, a little sense of recognition, a sense that the church is repentant for sins (it has) committed and that they are in our prayers.” “That it’s addressing it in an outward fashion (I believe) would help give an individual some hope, that somebody is understanding, that somebody is listening, that it’s not just a one-time report and dealt with,” she said. Clohessy said victims are all over the map in dealing with abuse. “Some will attend (these services) and no doubt feel good, and some will still be upset,” he said. “Some find it difficult to trust any authority figure. “You know, I’ve never spoken to a victim who, when lying in bed, is wondering if there aren’t enough people praying for the abuse crisis. They are lying in bed thinking, ‘Is my perpetrator doing something else?’ “ *** Want to go? What: Evening of Repentance and Prayer for Those Harmed in the Church Where: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue, Springfield. Simultaneous services will be held at: + St. Boniface Church, 110 N. Buchanan St., Edwardsville + Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, 400 N. Whitetail Circle, Mount Zion + St. Francis of Assisi Church, 203 E. Main St., Teutopolis + Our Saviour Church, 453 E. State St., Jacksonville + St. Agnes Church, 216 E. Tremont St., Hillsboro + Blessed Sacrament Church, 1119 S. Seventh St., Quincy When: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12 (all services) For more information: www.dio.org *** Steps taken by the Diocese of Springfield Article 12 of the The National Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, announced by the U.S. Conference of Bishops in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis, requires that dioceses establish safe-environment programs to rotect children from sexual abuse and child molestation. It details the standards of conduct for clergy and other persons in positions of trust with regard to sexual abuse. Goals of the Diocese of Springfield include: *A code of conduct for employees and volunteers who work with children and youth is outlined in the Policy Against Sexual Misconduct for Lay Employees and Volunteers. This code makes clear what acceptable behavior is and the standards of conduct regarding sexual abuse and harassment. *A code of conduct for clergy and religious leaders who work with children and youths is outlined in the Policy Against Sexual Misconduct for Clergy and Religious Personnel. This code makes clear what acceptable behavior is and the standards of conduct regarding sexual abuse and harassment. *Background checks on all adults who have regular contact with minors. *Training programs for all adults who work with minors, including priests, ministers, educators, church personnel, parents and volunteers. They are briefed on preventing, identifying, responding to and reporting child abuse.
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