NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune
February 25, 2019
By Kim Chatelain
Promising “unyielding vigilance” in attacking clergy abuse, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrapped an unprecedented Vatican summit by vowing to intensify a 2002 charter designed to create a safe environment for children in the church.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who heads the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, released his statement Sunday (Feb. 24) at the end of a four-day meeting of church hierarchy in Rome to discuss sexual abuse and child protection.
At a meeting in Dallas in 2002, the U.S. bishops’ conference established what is formally called the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which is also known as the Dallas Charter. Among other things, it requires dioceses to set up safe environment programs that include background checks and training for anyone who has contact with minors at any Catholic church or school event. The document has been updated several times since its adoption.
Some church leaders have said the number of sex abuse complaints has dropped dramatically since the charter was put in place. However, recent reports of child molestation by clergy members, most notably a shocking report by a Pennsylvania grand jury last year, brought the issue into public view again and prompted Pope Francis to stage the summit.
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