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	Church Sex Abuse Counselor Signs on Venice Diocese Social Worker's Goal Is to Help Church Abuse Victims By Christina E. Sanchez christina.sanchez@heraldtribune.com Herald-Tribune April 9, 2006 http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS/604090421 VENICE -- Barbara DiCocco has signed on for a tough job, but one she sees as critical in helping the Catholic Church move forward from one of its most painful periods. DiCocco, a licensed clinical social worker for 35 years, was recently hired by the Venice diocese to counsel those who claim to have been sexually abused by Catholic Church clergy, staff or volunteers. "Instead of casting a stone, I felt a duty to help my church," said DiCocco, a Catholic who has followed the abuse allegations issue. Since exposure of a sex abuse scandal rocked the Catholic Church almost four years ago, Catholic dioceses around the country and locally have been working to regain the trust of church members. The Catholic Diocese of Venice, which had five of its own priests accused of abuse, said it wants to be part of the solution and has vowed to show no tolerance of abuse of children. The diocese has 54 parishes and serves an estimated 223,686 Catholics in 10 counties including Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte. Support groups created in the wake of the abuse scandal are watching closely and with some skepticism the advocacy positions, support groups and policy changes instituted by the Catholic Church. One national self-help, support group, Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests, has called for institutional changes that include dissolving secrecy, defrauding predator priests, using law enforcement authorities to conduct investigations and offering abuse-prevention programs in in parochial schools. The church has begun to respond to the recommendations by drafting charter policies that include mandates of officials to report abuse and creates "safe environment" programs to protect children. Sometimes the hardest feat for a victim of sexual abuse is learning to trust -- again -- and to get past feelings of betrayal. That's where DiCocco comes in. "It's hard to trust when you feel violated," she said. "You have to be sensitive to their issues and help them find solutions." DiCocco helps victims by hearing what they want, whether it's to let them talk about what happened to them or for her to assist them in bringing their allegations to the diocese's review board. The board, a requirement under 2003 charter, serves as "a confidential consultative body to the bishop" and is made up of mostly lay people who make recommendations on how a diocese should proceed in abuse cases. DiCocco does not get involved in or offer any advice on litigation. She can provide counseling free of charge or direct victims to a private therapist outside the church. During her service in the mental health field, DiCocco has listened plenty and watched abuse and trauma victims struggle in relationships, suffer from anxiety disorders and learn to heal. After Hurricane Charley, she signed on in 2004 to work at the Charlotte Community Mental Health Services' Project Recovery Program to help hurricane victims get back on their feet and deal with effects of the disaster. She took the Charlotte County job after she retired the private practice she opened after moving to Florida in 1997. DiCocco, a Boston native, got her bachelor's degree from Merrimack College in New Hampshire and a master's degree in social work from Boston College. "It's about victims being able to identify what happened to them, recognizing the emotions that come with it and learning to live through this and move on," DiCocco said. A 24-hour hot line is available for church abuse victims to contact DiCocco, tell their story and be heard by the Catholic Church. Victims can call (941) 416-6114. She has not received any calls since she started the job in January, but her predecessor, the diocese's first victim assistance minister, had counseled several people over the phone from the time the hot line was established in 2003. "I think it is the church's way of taking responsibility for what happened," she said. "The church has done a lot of work to put in policies to safeguard children." Many of those policies were drafted in the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" at United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 during the height of abuse allegations. In fact, because of the charter, each diocese in the country was required to hire a victim assistance coordinator to perform outreach work to people abused in the church. Venice Diocese also has vowed transparency. Since the 2002 bishops conference, Venice Diocese Bishop John J. Nevins has revealed the local connection to the abuse. In Venice Diocese publication available online, he said that between 1984 and 2003 five priests in the diocese had been accused of sexual misconduct. He also revealed that during that 19-year period the diocese paid $1.6 million toward counseling services and settlements, according to the ion, "Healing the Body of Christ." The national director of SNAP said the victim assistance coordinators are qualified and well-intentioned, but the Catholic Church response has to be stronger, and until it is, he is skeptical that the victim assistance minister will be effective. "We think that virtually without exception these are well meaning people in a very difficult position, but they lack any real power," said SNAP Director David Clohessy in a recent phone interview. SNAP, founded in 1989, holds self-help meetings twice a month for abuse victims. It is has 65 charters around the country, including ones in St. Petersburg, Miami and St. Augustine. Clohessy, also a victim of abuse, has been the national director since 1991. The group would like to see the church institute programs such as "Abuse Prevention Sunday," during which priests would talk to parents about spotting signs of abuse and offer counseling services with independent therapists. There has been progress in recent years to protect children, Clohessy said, but a lot of it has come from awareness. "I think it is generally speaking because abused kids are more apt to tell parents, families are more apt to believe and authorities are more apt to investigate," Clohessy said.
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