Archdiocese Is Hamstrung in Reform, Report Says, by Katie Zezima, Amherst Times, April 8, 2006

Archdiocese Is Hamstrung in Reform, Report Says

By Katie Zezima
Amherst Times
April 8, 2006

http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?option=
com_content&task=view&id=1166&Itemid=27

Efforts to change the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in the aftermath of the crisis of sexual abuse by clergymen have been hampered by diminished resources, according to a report issued Friday.

"The greatest challenge presented to the archdiocese in 2005-6 is the slow pace of organizational and cultural change in the face of diminished human and financial resources," the report, compiled by an independent panel over two years, said. "This challenge is ignored at the peril of the church."

The report found that the archdiocese had taken significant steps to insure that children were protected. But, it added, the archdiocese has also suffered from spotty carrying out of many policies, most noticeably community healing and outreach, internal and external communication and preventative education programs. While the archdiocese has made a "solid beginning," the report said, "continuity and assimilation are serious tasks ahead."

The archdiocese has succeeded on several fronts, the report said: reaching settlements with hundreds of people who say they were abused by priests; establishing a network of therapists; running background checks on teachers and volunteers, and creating teams for preventing child abuse.

The report called for the restructuring of the archdiocesan review board, which oversees accusations of sexual abuse and misconduct against priests.

The board reviewed 71 cases of alleged misconduct by priests and deacons from July 2003 to December 2005. It found probable cause of sexual abuse in 38 cases.

Sixteen of those priests have been defrocked or barred from ministry, 13 are awaiting further processing and 9 cases are still pending. Of the remaining cases, 23 clergy members were cleared, and 9 were barred from ministry for other reasons, including mental illness and substance abuse. One case remains unresolved.

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the leader of the archdiocese, said the report served as a blueprint.

"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," Cardinal O'Malley said.

Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer who has represented hundreds of people who said they were abused by priests, said the archdiocese should use proceeds from parish closings and land sales to finance child-protection initiatives.

"The protection of children is priceless," Mr. Garabedian said, "and the Archdiocese of Boston has to make the protection of children a top priority."

Archdiocesan fund-raising is inching up after dropping after the sexual abuse crisis broke here in early 2002. Last year's annual appeal netted about $11 million. In 2002 parishioners gave $8.8 million, down from a high of $17 million in 1999.