A Historical Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse of Minors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee
July 1, 2013

http://www.archmil.org/reorg/clergy-offenders-info/historical-perspective.htm

Dr. Monica Applewhite, one of the leading experts on screening, monitoring and policy development for the prevention of sexual abuse, has studied the development of organizational standards of care for prevention and response to child sexual abuse. She reports that, until the mid-1970s, the belief was that child sexual abuse was rare. In the 1980s, professionals began to acknowledge how common child sexual abuse was and that it was a significant problem.

Even after realizing sexual abuse of a minor was more prevalent, including by clergy, it was only in the 1990s that professionals began to recognize the long-term effect of sexual abuse on victims.

From 1985 to 1995, most major religious organizations established policies on sexual misconduct that included codes of ethics, polices on reporting and procedures for responding to sexual abuse by ministers.

On a national level, in June 1992, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (then the National Conference of Catholic Bishops) adopted its five principles to follow in dealing with accusations of sexual abuse, and, the following year, formalized an Ad Hoc committee of the Bishops’ Conference on Sexual Abuse. This Committee continued to produce materials for dioceses to implement as ways of responsibly addressing this issue.

Acknowledging the issue of clergy sexual abuse of minors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in the late 1980s, the archdiocese developed a process for receiving and responding to reports of sexual abuse of minors by clergy and assigned a staff person to direct this process.

In 1989, the archdiocese established Project Benjamin. Project Benjamin was an initiative that was the archdiocese’s first attempt at a coordinated response to the issue of clergy sexual abuse. It was intended to provide a multi-prong response. It provided a contact person for victims/survivors, coordinated referrals for therapy and developed education on sexual abuse. Project Benjamin brought together victims’ advocates, healthcare professionals, judicial and law enforcement representatives and clinical social workers and therapists to assist in the Church’s response to victims/survivors and to offer recommendations about appropriate policies and procedures. The emphasis of Project Benjamin was on healing.

The staff director of Project Benjamin was responsible for examining individual allegations from abuse survivors and in its initial years, the director responded to nearly 70 individual victims/survivors. The archdiocese also implemented the use of criminal background checks for anyone whose employment would bring them into regular contact with minors. A Code of Ethical Standards for Church leaders was implemented in 1994 and became the model for such codes elsewhere. Over the years this code has been updated and revised or reprinted eight times.

The Project Benjamin group served as a type of advisory board, working to develop a better understanding within the Church regarding sexual abuse, developing strategies for outreach and support for abuse survivors, and educating the larger community about this issue. The Project Benjamin board did not examine specific allegations or cases, but rather developed protocols and recommended best practices for responding to victims/survivors. In the mid-1990s, the Project Benjamin Office is renamed and becomes the Archdiocesan Response to Sexual Abuse and the name “Project Benjamin” was dropped. The advisory group became known as the Community Advisory Board.

Providing therapy was one aspect of response to this issue; ensuring therapy was beneficial to the individual was another. In 1992, a panel of external professional experts convened in response to a recognized need to assure that victims whose psychotherapy was paid for by the archdiocese, were receiving ethical and competent therapy. The group, called the Professional Review Committee, provided a process for assessment of the professional quality of the therapy and for approval of the treatment plans necessary for financial reimbursement from the archdiocese. This practice was ended, however, when some critics saw this practice as controlling and as potential manipulation, rather than good professional concern. An alternative form of review was later devised to continue that same service to abuse survivors.

Project Benjamin became a model for many dioceses across the country and a national meeting for victims/survivors was held in Milwaukee in 1995, which included a major healing service at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, which drew hundreds of people. Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was the presider and homilist at the service and, because of threats that were received, the police department asked Archbishop Flynn, Archbishop Weakland and Bishop Sklba to wear bulletproof vests during the service.

Additionally, days of reflection were held at different points around the archdiocese and a retreat day was scheduled in 1995, specifically for the deaf community to address revelations about Father Lawrence Murphy.

In October 1997, the archdiocese hosted a national meeting of victim/survivors and members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse at the Cousins Center. Bishop John Kinney, Bishop Richard Sklba, victim assistance coordinators from Atlanta, Minneapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee, and Father Clete Kiley of the NCCB attended the meeting. Victims came from a number of dioceses. One of the major goals of the meeting was the production of a dialogue model for use by other dioceses and/or religious communities. The meeting resulted with a document being produced for the NCCB, called: In Search of Higher Ground: A Model for Dialogue in Restorative Justice with Victim Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse.

Historically, not all allegations of sexual abuse were reported to authorities, so in the early 1990s, retired Milwaukee Judge Leander Foley, led a review of all known priest-offender files to determine if any cases fell within the criminal statute of limitations and should be referred to civil authorities or, if a criminal referral was not possible, to ensure appropriate action had been taken to avoid risk of further offenses.

Because most abuse reports were reports of abuse happening many years in the past, the priest-perpetrator was not able to be prosecuted. In these instances, an internal determination was made that if the criminal statute of limitations had passed, no report was made to law enforcement authorities. Allegations of abuse where the victim was still a minor were turned over to civil authorities. The focus was on outreach and healing for victims/survivors, including the provision of therapy to individuals. Today, all reports about a priest who is still alive are sent to civil authorities regardless of when the abuse was reported as having happened. We depend on review by civil officials if the statute of limitations will allow for prosecution.

Treatment of perpetrators has also varied over time as the information and study of child sexual abuse progressed. Clergy, bishops, as well as medical professionals, treated sexual abuse as a moral failing. Such a moral failing was treated with intense retreat, prayer, spiritual direction and a penitential approach. In addition, the psychological professions offered treatment thinking the behaviors and underlying causes could be changed.

With the onset of Project Benjamin, a more consistent response was implemented regarding priest-perpetrators. Usually that response consisted of immediate removal or leave from the current pastoral assignment; prohibition of any ministry; removal of priestly faculties (permission to minister); spiritual direction or counseling; and clinical therapy. In the 1990s, imposing partial or full restrictions on ministry for priests with past incidents of sexual abuse of a minor became more of the standard practice.

In the later 1990s, a subcommittee of Project Benjamin formed the Perpetrator Committee. This committee consisted of civil authorities, victims’ advocates and psychologists. Their job was to develop policies and protocols that would be used in determining under what conditions the possibility of reassignment of offenders might be considered. This group did not review or make recommendations on individual cases, but established the practices for use by those responsible for priest personnel decisions.

With the recommendations of therapists, medical professionals and sometimes civil authorities, another pastoral assignment could only be considered and sometimes given according to a set of determined criteria, including professional assessment of risk. Monitoring protocols began to be put in place, regardless of whether or not an assignment was given.

At the onset of 2002, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had six priests with past allegations of sexual abuse of a minor in active ministry.

In spring 2002, prior to the adoption by the U.S. Bishops of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the Eisenberg Commission was appointed by Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., to review all policies and protocols regarding the handling of clergy sexual abuse reports and make recommendations for any changes to be implemented. In addition, the commission was asked to review the background, reports and circumstances of the six priests who remained in ministry and make recommendations regarding their future service. The external commission was initially led by the dean of the Marquette University Law School, Howard Eisenberg, who died, unexpectedly, in 2002.

In June of 2002, the U.S. Bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The Charter adopted a “one strike” policy with regard to priests serving in any active, public ministry, and also included:

Permanent removal from active ministry of any priest with a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor;

Required criminal background checks for adults, including clergy, who work with children and youth;

Implementation of educational programs for the prevention of child sexual abuse for both adults and children;

Behavioral guidelines/ethical standards for ministry;

Outreach for victims/survivors;

Review boards to oversee policy implementation and to assess allegations of abuse and make recommendations about fitness for ministry.

Based upon the Charter, the six men in active ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee were publicly identified and removed from ministry, prior to the installation of Archbishop Dolan as Archbishop of Milwaukee in August 2002. Therefore, assessment about suitability for ministry of these six priests was no longer the work of the Commission. The remaining policy recommendations of the Eisenberg Commission were accepted and implemented by Archbishop Dolan in fall of 2002 and are posted on the archdiocesan Website. They became the cornerstone for additional policies and procedures as they were developed.

Each diocese in the United States is subject to an annual review of compliance with the articles of the Charter by an outside, independent audit agency. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has participated in these audits for each of the years of the audit program and has received exemplary reports from the audit agency. Dioceses have the option of selecting a streamlined audit process without an on-site audit team two out of three years; the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has chosen to have a full audit with an on-site team each year. In addition, the archdiocese has not only permitted but encouraged that the auditors make site visits to parishes and schools to monitor compliance.

In 2002, civil authorities reviewed archdiocesan files of all priests accused of sexual abuse of minors to verify that there were no cases falling within the criminal statute of limitations.

In 2002, with adjustments in canon (Church) law having been made, the archdiocese began submitting all known cases of sexual abuse of minors by diocesan clergy (still alive) to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In 2004, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee supported Wisconsin state legislation expanding responsibilities for mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse and extending future criminal and civil statute of limitations for victims/survivors to seek action in both criminal and civil courts.

In 2004, Archbishop Timothy Dolan directed a complete review by an outside forensic audit team of every diocesan priest’s file to make sure no allegations of clergy sexual abuse of a minor went undiscovered or unreported.

On July 9, 2004, Archbishop Dolan, published the names of diocesan priests of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who have been (or would be if they were still alive) restricted from all priestly ministries, who may not celebrate the sacraments publicly, or present themselves as priests in any way because of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. In addition, in accordance with the canonical norms that have been established, the allegations against any living priest continue to be sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith .

One thing that is clear in this review of history is how thinking has evolved regarding how cases were handled in society from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, to today, and how the issue of sexual abuse of a minor was handled by law enforcement officials; by therapists and health professionals; and also by Church officials. The arc of understanding sexual abuse of a minor progressed from being seen as a moral failing and sin that needed personal resolve and spiritual direction; to a psychological deficiency that required therapy and could be cured; to issues of addiction requiring more extensive therapy and restrictions on ministry; to recognition of the long-term effects of abuse and the need to hold the perpetrator accountable for this criminal activity.

Today, there is a better understanding about child sexual abuse; its human impact and best practices to prevent it and respond to it. Today, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, any report of sexual abuse of a minor made to the archdiocese is immediately referred to civil authorities if the accused is still alive and the priest or deacon is immediately removed from ministry during the investigation, after the archdiocese is given clearance to do so by civil authorities.

In a recent research report, Dr. Applewhite makes the following conclusion: “In examining allegations of sexual abuse and how they were handled in the past, there is a temptation to apply our current standards and knowledge to judge decisions and actions that were taken long ago.”

The archdiocese has learned that making judgments about past actions and decisions based upon what we know about sexual abuse today, is imperfect.

Since 2002, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has increased its outreach initiatives to include items required under Charter, but also items well beyond what is required. This continues the spirit of Project Benjamin to focus on healing for those who have been harmed. The Catholic Church has done more to protect children than almost any other organization in the United States. In the archdiocese, these are some of the steps taken:

National and state criminal background checks are conducted on Church personnel and volunteers who work with children.

Counseling referrals, spiritual direction, therapy support and other services are provided to assist people who have been abused or affected by abuse.

Intensive background screening as well as psychological testing is required for those wishing to enter the seminary.

A full-time Victim Assistance Coordinator implements the archdiocesan response to sexual abuse through the Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response Services office.

A full-time Archdiocesan Safe Environment Coordinator oversees mandatory Safe Environment education for all priests, deacons, staff and volunteers in all parishes and schools.

Establishment of a Diocesan Review Board chaired by former Lt. Governor Margaret Farrow, that reviews individual reports from investigators regarding substantiation of allegations and advises the archbishop regarding a priest’s suitability for ministry.

Local Safe Environment Coordinators are in place throughout the archdiocese to assure the ongoing compliance to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Age-appropriate education for school and religious education children to equip them with the skills to help them protect themselves from abuse has been developed.

The Code of Ethical Standards for Church Leaders must be read and signed by all Church personnel.

Archbishop Listecki, Bishop Sklba, Bishop Hying and, previously, Bishop Callahan and Archbishop Dolan, have all met with individuals who have suffered or been affected by sexual abuse by clergy.

Two days of listening sessions for victims/survivors and families were held in October 2002.

Town hall meetings were conducted at various parish sites in 2002.

Over the years, there have been healing services, Masses and other forms of reconciliation events for victim/survivors in the archdiocese.

A Community Advisory Board reviews and improves the response of the archdiocese to those who have experienced or been affected by sexual abuse by Church personnel.