Archbishop Harry J. Flynn's Statement for USAToday
We're Confronting Problem
Efforts to combat abuse are ongoing and will expand further.
By Harry J. Flynn
The abuse and exploitation of children by trusted adults is horrific, wrong and criminal. In 2002, the bishops of the United States pledged to address that problem in the church. They have, they are and they will.
At great financial and personal expense, the bishops have publicly accounted for their actions, described in annual reports by the Office for Child and Youth Protection. External auditors, primarily former FBI agents, have visited virtually every diocese for the past two years. In 2005, some dioceses will self report to outside auditors who will then verify what has been reported. From 2005 on, any diocese out of compliance will have an on site audit. Also, every diocese will be audited on site every two or three years.
The church spent nearly $20 million in 2004 alone on child protection. Such programs are not going away; they are expanding. More than 4.5 million church personnel and volunteers, including bishops and priests, have already undergone background checks, education on reporting child sexual abuse and instruction on how to recognize signs that abuse may be taking place.
Every diocese implements a policy through a lay review board. These board members, many of them parents and many with legal backgrounds, are committed to dealing with the problem intelligently, forcefully and sympathetically.
And each diocese bears the expense of litigation of cases that occurred years ago.
The bishops, as pastors, do the heart rending job of addressing violations of children entrusted to their care. As administrators, they also must work through legal systems. They must weigh what to do to atone for the offenses that have occurred and what to do to ensure that the spiritual, charitable and educational work of the church goes on. This calls for stewardship. Being fair to everyone is no small challenge.
The bishops are dealing with a problem that never should have occurred. A fair minded assessment of their efforts, warts and all, will be available on Friday when the 2004 audits are released.
Certainly there is more to do, and we will continue to get it done.
Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul and Minneapolis is chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse.