2004 Audit Executive Summary:
Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, Southfield, Michigan
Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim
Previous Audit Conducted
October 27, 2003
The information found herein represents conditions as they were found
to exist during the week of October 12-15, 2004.
The Eparchy has a policy on the
prevention of sexual abuse of minors by clergy that has been adopted from
the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The Eparchy has an outreach
program designed to offer pastoral care to victims/survivors and their
families, but to date it has not been put to use since there have been no
reported incidents of sexual abuse. The Bishop or his representative has
offered to meet with all victims/survivors who wish to make allegations of
abuse, but no such persons have come forward. The Bishop has a policy
designed to direct outreach to all faith communities in which sexual abuse
may occur, but to date no such abuse is known to have occurred. The
Eparchy has a mechanism in place to respond promptly to any allegation
where there is reason to believe that sexual abuse of a minor has
occurred.
The Eparchy has a victim assistance coordinator, Mrs.
Janan Senawi, who is a certified social worker with many years of
experience in family counseling. The Eparchy entered into an agreement
with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit in November, 2003 to
utilize the services of the Archdiocesan Review Board as may be required.
The Review Board consists of seven members, including two judges, an
attorney in private practice, a prosecutor, a businessman, a psychologist
and a pastor. The Board is prepared to serve as a confidential
consultative body to the Bishop.
The procedures for making a
complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form, and are the
subject of periodic public announcements. The Eparchy has not entered into
any confidentiality agreements during the audit period.
The Eparchy had no
allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to report to public authorities
since the last compliance audit. The Eparchy complies with all applicable
civil laws with respect to the reporting of allegations of sexual abuse of
minors to civil authorities. By agreement, the Eparchy will work through
the Archdiocese of Detroit in dealing with the civil authorities regarding
allegations of sexual abuse that may come forward. The Archdiocese of
Detroit has established effective liaison with the appropriate civil
authorities, ensuring that an open dialogue will occur as necessary. The
Eparchy has a policy dictating cooperation with public authorities about
reporting in cases when the person is no longer a minor, but has had no
such cases to report. The policy of the Eparchy is that all
victims/survivors will be advised of their right to report allegations of
abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities.
The policy of
the Eparchy provides that if an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a
priest is received, a preliminary investigation, in harmony with canon
law, will be initiated. If a preliminary investigation so indicates, the
eparchial policy provides for notification to the Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith and application of the precautionary measures mentioned
in CIC, canon 1722, or CCEO, canon 1473. Policy also provides that should
an accusation against a priest be determined to be unfounded, the Eparchy
would take steps to restore the good name of the priest.
Eparchial
policy provides that should sexual abuse of a minor by a priest be
admitted or established after an appropriate process in accord with canon
law, the offending priest will be permanently removed from ministry.
Eparchial policy also provides for an offer of professional assistance to
offending priests.
Eparchial policy provides that in every case
involving canonical penalties, the processes provided for in canon law
will be observed. It is the policy of the Bishop that accused clergy would
be encouraged to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel and
that, should it be necessary, canonical counsel would be provided by the
Eparchy.
Eparchial policy provides that if the penalty of
dismissal from the clerical state has not been applied in an applicable
case, the Bishop will direct the offender to lead a life of prayer and
penance and will not allow him to celebrate Mass publicly, to administer
the sacraments, or to present himself publicly as a priest.
The
Eparchy has established clear and well-publicized standards of ministerial
behavior for priests and other individuals having regular contact with
children. A communications policy is in effect which reflects the Bishop's
pledge to be open and transparent on issues regarding the sexual abuse of
children. Eparchial policy provides for assistance and support to all
parish communities that may be directly affected by ministerial misconduct
involving minors.
The Eparchy has implemented a "safe environment"
education program. The educational program for children is “Touching
Safety” and will be implemented by December 31, 2004 subsequent to
training of religious education instructors; the educational program for
parents, priests, educators, volunteers and employees is “Protecting God’s
Children”. The Eparchy has clear and well publicized standards of conduct
for persons in positions of trust with regard to sexual abuse. The Eparchy
conducts background evaluations for all eparchial and parish personnel who
have regular contact with minors, using appropriate law enforcement
resources where permissible. The Eparchy utilizes the resources of the
Archdiocese of Detroit to ensure adequate screening and evaluation in
deciding the fitness of candidates for ordination.
The Eparchy has
not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of
sexual abuse made against him to another ministerial assignment since the
last audit. The Eparchy has not transferred any priest or deacon who has
had a credible allegation of sexual abuse made against him to another
eparchy for residence since the last audit. It is noted that there have
been no allegations of sexual abuse by priests assigned to the
Eparchy.
There are no Eastern Rite religious order priests present
in the Eparchy, and therefore no opportunity to coordinate with major
superiors. The Eparchy has not had the opportunity to participate in
research with other institutions in the area of sexual abuse. The Eparchy
utilizes the resources of the Archdiocese of Detroit in providing an
ongoing formation program to its priests in keeping with the Basic Plan
for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.
At the conclusion of this compliance audit,
the Eparchy was found to be compliant with all articles of the Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People.