What is the Catholic Church/clergy at all levels doing to prevent the sexual abuse of young boys by Priests?

Question

This is a sincere question that I am honestly in need of an answer for. I apologize for bringing up this bitter subject and I don't mean to open old wounds, but I would really like to know how the Catholic Church has found a way to move on from this issue. Again, I sincerely mean no disrespect by asking. Thank You.

Answer 1

The website for the Office of Child & Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops should answer your question: http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I can only speak of my own experience at the parish and diocesan levels. Clergy, staff and lay volunteers who work in parish and diocesan programs that involve contact with minors must undergo criminal background checks on a regular basis. Social guidelines have been put in place (e.g. No closed-door, one-on-one discussions or counseling outside of the confessional. No driving individual minors home after class, etc.) The guidelines are set up for the protection of both the minors and the adults.

If an allegation is made, the accused is immediately removed from their ministry while a preliminary investigation is made. If there is substantiation, the suspension becomes indefinite and the police take the case. Last year, a neigboring parish had to do without its pastor for a couple of months while just such an investigation was made. He was reinstated but it just shows how seriously the diocese takes these issues now.

Past cases are treated just as seriously. Our parish held a couple of discussion and healing sessions recently about a pastor from 20 years ago (before I came there) who was being prosecuted for molestation. So it's not just about the legal aspects of the problem.

I think bishops sincerely got trapped by the Christian notions of forgiveness and compassion and simply failed to recognize the scope and pastoral consequences of the problem. They've been forced to become more worldly wise and vigilant. It's not just window dressing, at least not in this country.

Answer 3

I can tell you some of the steps taken by the Diocese of San Jose in California, which had its share of problems several years ago.

Bishop McGrath took the first opportunity he could to publically tell the priests in the diocese that if any of them was even THINKING of violating the trust that was being given to them, that they should leave the priesthood NOW. (Not that that does much of anything, but it's a step towards setting the correct tone.)

That diocese now requires background checks on ALL employees, including priests. It also has a department for appropriate conduct. All employees and a good number of volunteers now take a course from this department. This department also handles reports of abuse or suspected abuse. The minute a report is filed on a priest, that man is put on administrative leave and pulled out of his duties, contact with the parish to which he is assigned, and (I think), told not to perform any sacraments. This doesn't seem like much to some, but that last part is a big deal for most priests.

Churches in that diocese are no longer allowed to have ANY meeting space that does not have a window and a window of some sort in the door. This covers everything from private offices to confessionals.

On all fronts, I think it is the laity themselves who are doing the most about this. They won't stand for this kind of action, and they investigate priests being "moved around." I think/hope that seminaries do more psychological screening than they have in the past. Pedophilia is a sick mental disorder that is not limited to the clergy nor caused by becoming a priest.

Answer 4

I taught for many years in a Jesuit seminary and I assure you that their was constant evaluation of those studying for the priesthood. It would be great is Protestant clergy was under the same scrutiny but sadly they are not even though according to percentages the Protestant problem among clergy is many times larger and they are still hiding their problem from their church members. The exception would be the Texas Southern Baptists who are following the example of the Catholic Church and adopting a zero tolerance approach towards sexual abusing clergy.

As someone has pointed out, Sexual abusers are mentally ill with an illness that has no cure or treatment. the psychiatric community is still learning how to identify sexual abusers. The Catholic Church in the past chose the charitable path of treating offenders on bad advice from the psychiatric community and once they were pronounced well putting them back to work. We know now that this is an incurable illness and that the offenders must be removed from an opportunity to commit their crime.

One thing should be clear, it is not celibacy that is a factor in one being a sexual offender. In fact, the evidence proves the opposite of celibacy being a contributing factor based on the fact that among clergy who are allowed to marry the incidence of sexual abuse is over seven times higher than Catholic clergy as acknowledged by the southern Baptists and others.

In Christ

Answer 5

Believe it or not--and contrary to what is often reported in the media--the Catholic Church in the United States has adopted very strict policies to crack down on the clergy abuse scandal. For instance, adult who has contact with youth for more than fifteen hours each year in an official capacity (CCD teacher, coach, priest, etc.), including volunteers, must submit to a detail background check. This screening process often includes fingerprinting, which is cross-referenced through national databases to make sure that no offenders are hired. More to the point, employee/volunteer attends mandatory Safe Environment training, which covers signs of sexual abuse and details how it is to be handled. (It is, of course, to be reported.) The governing body of the American Catholic Church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, promulgated these regulations and is responsible for their enforcement. Full-time staff members have been hired to oversee these regulations to help victims. The Vatican, responsible for the entire Church, has been actively involved in this process, assisting with the creation and approving these policies. Finally, the criteria for admittance to the seminary (to study for the priesthood) has become stringent and psychological testing is done on a regular basis.

Answer 6

In the Los Angeles Archdiocese every person who works or volunteers (even priest) must attend virtus training, which educates on protecting children. All programs are monitored and access to different areas in the church are controlled. No one is ever with a child alone.
I have heard that Priest go through rigorous screenings before taking their final vows now. Since I am not a Priest I am not sure exactly all the other things they go through. However, the Catholic Magazine, The Tidings, addresses this issue in every single issue.

Answer 7

You know, I was just thinking about this on my walk this afternoon. It seems odd that the CC would now move to prohibit gays from entering the priesthood when...well, now wait, homosexuality is a sin but maybe if you don't "practice" it it's okay and the one place you can "not practice" is, technically the priesthood since you've got to remain celibate. In theory. So it seems like a plan to promote the priesthood as a career path for homosexuals that can't get their act together enough to leave a church that labels them sinners. I'm not saying all priests are gay but gee whiz, who promises not to have sex? Wouldn't it just be easier for the CC to *return* to the rules they had back in the middle ages that allowed priests to marry?

Edit: Don't read into that screed that I conflate homosexuality and pedophilia. But most of the acts are both AND it seems that the CC has a notion (as much as an institution can have a thought) of what a healthy adult male can and cannot do with his willie...oh I give up, I'm not even catholic and don't think they really do much of anything right...but I think they CAN solve this problem by allowing priests to "be real people" - celibacy is NOT normal. Not for prolonged periods of time.

Answer 8

The Catholic Church is doing something about it, the Church are handing the Priests over to the Police and cleaning the Church up , I wish over Religions would do the same thing.

As you can gather not many on this site likes the Catholic Church and the Catholics

Answer 9

Not too much I`m afraid, much the same as school teachers getting away with molesting students. Priests r sometimes defrocked or moved to another parish, while the teacher, depending on her looks can rec. only probation and loss of teaching certificate to a prison sentence.

Answer 10

Well don't just focus on the catholics, the stats say it's just as bad as with the protestants. From what I understand, they (clergy) are now being defrocked and jailed. No more pushing it under the rug so to say.