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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2010 /  Archbishop Vigneron recommits archdiocese to keeping kids safe

by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 30, 2010

Detroit – In the wake of recent news stories about the sin and crime of clerical sexual abuse involving minors, Archbishop Allen Vigneron recommitted the Detroit Archdiocese to "further establish a Church-life in which children are safe."

The archbishop renewed the call to the public to report incidents to the archdiocese, regardless of when they occurred, so that the local Church can keep improving its response.

"We must preserve and increase the public's confidence in what we do to keep children safe," Archbishop Vigneron said Monday.

Crowded out by the spate of coverage regarding decades-old clerical abuse cases in the United States and Europe, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' most recent audit of American dioceses' compliance with the U.S. bishops' 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" – often called the Dallas Charter – reflects increasingly successful implementation of policies designed to deal with the problem.

Locally, the Archdiocese of Detroit is fully living up to the requirements of the Dallas Charter, said Michigan Appeals Court Judge Michael Talbot, who serves as the chair of the Archdiocesan Review Board.

"The archdiocese is in full compliance," Talbot said March 25.

He said the archdiocese had only a few new reports of sexual abuse incidents during the audit period – from mid-2008 to mid-2009 – and all of the incidents reported were decades old and all involved priests who had already been removed, restricted or are deceased. Although all of the incidents would be beyond the statute of limitations for prosecution, they were nevertheless all turned over immediately to appropriate law-enforcement agencies, Talbot said.

Ned McGrath, archdiocesan communications director, said the archdiocese's experience mirrors that of the national trends and statistics. "In fact, most of what've dealt with during this time period (2008-09) involves priests who were reported in our previous audits. In other words, the complaints deal with priests who have already been removed or restricted in their public ministry or are deceased," he said.

Both Talbot and McGrath stressed that the archdiocese encourages anyone with a complaint about sexual abuse by any priest, deacon or other Church personnel to come forward and report it to the archdiocese – and that there is no time limit or other restriction on making a complaint.

"If it involves an incident from 20 months ago or 20 years ago, we want hear about it," McGrath said.

And if civil authorities – that is, the prosecuting attorneys in the six counties of the archdiocese – decide to conduct an investigation of a complaint, archdiocesan authorities cooperate fully, he continued.

But regardless what action civil authorities take, if the Archdiocesan Review Board considers the complaint to be credible, it begins its own investigation. Following its investigation, the board makes a recommendation to the archbishop, McGrath added.

Talbot said the review board meets at least once a quarter, but also as needed when there are abuse incidents to deal with. Besides considering cases, the board also monitors the local implementation of Protecting God's Children, a national sexual-abuse prevention program.

"Every priest, every employee, every volunteer has gone through the training program, but it's an on-going process, and as new people come on board, they do, too," Talbot said.

From July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, the Detroit Archdiocese held 124 Protecting God's Children workshops and trained 6,195 adults. More than 56,000 adults in the archdiocese have completed the training since 2004.

"And we continue to have audits and continue to satisfy those audits," Talbot added.

McGrath noted that and appointed promoter of ministerial standards reports to the archbishop's delegate and to the review board chair on the priests who have been removed or restricted in public ministry. This person monitors those priests by checking on them by telephone and personal visits at least once a month.

Beyond tracking their adherence to the restrictions placed upon them, the monitor also makes observations regarding the health and well-being of the individuals. Pastoral support from Office for Clergy and Consecrated Life is provided when and where needed.

The Archdiocese of Detroit's efforts to address the problem of sexual abuse of minors predates the national outcry that prompted the current national policy in 2002. The archdiocese has had a policy on the books since 1988, though that policy has since been revised to conform to the national norms.

"It has been tested, and it works well. Our actions are informed by the Dallas Charter, the Essential Norms, and by the requirements in canon and civil law," McGrath added.