COLUMBUS (OH)
Columbus Dispatch
May 20, 2019
By Danae King
While a recent mandate on child sexual abuse from Pope Francis made headlines worldwide and garnered praise from Catholic leaders and some skepticism from victim advocates, not much about how abuse is reported in the United States will likely change.
The new church law, which was released on May 9 and goes into effect June 1, states that all Catholic priests and nuns have to report clergy abuse of minors and adults to church authorities. However, the edict, called a Motu Proprio, gives precedent to existing local practices, said Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In the United States, those practices were set by a 2002 document called the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that instructs clerics to report suspected abuse to local authorities first, before telling church officials, Nojadera said.
“We are ahead of the curve on that,” he said of the United States’ practices. “From 2002 on, with the charter it’s been very clear that law enforcement is contacted.”
The charter also established training guidelines for people in the church involved with children, including clergy members, other church officials and volunteers. And they are trained on mandated reporting laws in their state.
Ohio is one of 28 states that names clergy as mandated reporters, and it’s a misdemeanor offense in the state if mandated reporters don’t report suspected child abuse to law enforcement, which could be police or children’s services agencies.
Under the pope’s edict, there are no penalties for not reporting sexual abuse — of minors, sexual misconduct with adults and knowing of or covering up any abuse — to the church.
Although clerics are mandatory reporters in Ohio, there are some exceptions to when they are required to report, including “privileged conversations” that take place during the Catholic sacrament of confession.
Columbus Bishop Robert J. Brennan released a written statement on the mandate, praising it as a “significant step” that will provide a framework for the diocese in the future. The diocese released a list of 34 clergy members who had been “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse in its more than 150-year history in early March, shortly before Brennan succeeded Bishop Emeritus Frederick Campbell as Columbus’ 12th bishop.
The most recent abuse case on the list occurred more than 25 years ago. The diocese has added two more names to the list since its release, bringing the total to 36, and diocesan officials said it is still subject to changes and revision.
″(Pope Francis’) order provides standards, expectations, and procedures that will assist the Church in addressing this worldwide problem,” Brennan said in the statement. “It affirms our current commitment to offer spiritual care for survivors and their families, to provide full compliance with all civil laws regarding reporting of allegations of sexual abuse to authorities, to uphold the right of any person to report these crimes, to guarantee prompt and objective investigations, and to assure strong lay involvement.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.