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	Diocese Progresses on Child Protection Abuse Board Revision Urged By Michael Paulson Boston Globe April 8, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/08/diocese_progresses_on_child_protection/ The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has made significant progress improving protection of children since the clergy sexual abuse crisis erupted four years ago, but is at constant risk of losing steam and needs to restructure the board that handles allegations against priests, a quasi-independent panel said yesterday. In a 137-page report, the panel reviewed the vast scope of archdiocesan efforts to prevent a repeat of the abuse scandal, praising a "major cultural and organizational change" that has included the training of more than 52,000 children in Catholic elementary schools, 43,000 children in weekend religious education classes, and 46,000 church volunteers to detect and prevent abuse. The report said that Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has written 626 personal letters of apology and invitations to meet with him to abuse victims, and that the archdiocese has been working with 400 therapists to serve about 637 abuse victims and family members. But the report includes numerous notes of caution, calling for a restructuring of the review board, which makes recommendations to the cardinal about the handling of abuse allegations against clergy. The board, the report says, has done an inadequate job of communicating to victims and accused priests and needs to be more clearly defined as independent. The report also says that the church nationally needs to find a way to monitor priests who were removed from ministry because they were sexually abusive. "The archdiocese is unevenly struggling to initiate and complete implementation and to sustain commitment to it," the report states. "Where the archdiocese has succeeded, there is a depth of application, reception, and assimilation that will bear good fruit for this region and for the country. Where it has not succeeded, there is not even lip service regarding the policies and procedures." The report warns that the archdiocese's ongoing financial woes pose a threat to its child-protection efforts. Globe Spotlight Investigation: Abuse in the Catholic Church Closing parishes Last Rites: A parish faces closing "The greatest challenge presented to the archdiocese in 2005-06 is the slow pace of organizational and cultural change in the face of diminished human and fiscal resources," the panel warned. "This challenge is ignored at the peril of the church." The report was compiled largely by a committee of lay men and women with experience in child abuse prevention, education, or law enforcement, chaired by Regis College administrator M. J. Doherty. Two archdiocesan agencies played a major role in the report, but Doherty said the archdiocese did not seek to have any criticism muted or removed. "We now have a clearer understanding of what we have accomplished and what more needs to be done to strengthen both our child-protection programs and our outreach to those who have been harmed as a result of clergy sexual abuse," O'Malley said in a statement. "The findings and recommendations provided will serve to guide our ongoing efforts. I remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure that no child is ever harmed again." The report includes previously unreleased statistics that illustrate the impact of the church's child protection efforts. Among the most interesting: Since the state began mandating that church employees report suspected abuse to state authorities, 52 percent of Catholic elementary schools and 9 percent of Catholic parishes have reported an abuse allegation to the state. In none of the cases did the allegation involve a church employee; the report said all of the suspected abuse was by family members, neighbors, or other children. The report also includes the archdiocese's first accounting of how it has handled abuse allegations against priests, statistics the archdiocese has previously been unable or unwilling to make public. The report says that from July 2003 to December 2005, the archdiocesan review board has considered 71 abuse allegations against priests or deacons. The board recommended action against priests in 38 of those cases; in 32 cases, the board did not find probable cause that the alleged abuse had occurred, and in one case the board was still investigating. The 38 cases in which the board believed abuse had occurred were all referred, as required under church law, to Rome; 11 priests were dismissed, five were restricted from ministry and ordered to lead lives of prayer and penance, 13 require some kind of further judicial process, and nine were pending in Rome. In response to the report, Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer who represents victims of clergy sexual abuse, called on the archdiocese to use some of the proceeds from parish closings to finance further child-protection efforts. "The protection of children is priceless," he said. "The Archdiocese of Boston should . . . overcome its diminished human and fiscal resources to ensure that children are protected." Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.
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