In June 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which directed dioceses to implement abuse prevention policies for Catholic institutions, such as safe environment education and training. Accompanying the Charter is another document, “The Essential Norms,” which decreed the procedures and directives to be followed by dioceses in responding promptly to all allegations of sexual abuse of minors. As a result, experts regularly refer to today’s Catholic Church in the United States as one of the safest organizations for children.
Article 13 of the Charter requires all adults in regular contact with children to complete a background check. In the Diocese of Camden, adults are both fingerprinted and must clear a background check before having any contact with children. With the exception of school employees, all adults are put through a mandatory three-year recheck. The fingerprints of school employees are retained in New Jersey State Police and FBI databases permanently, and any school employee would be flagged by the New Jersey Department of Education upon an arrest.
Article 12 requires adults in regular contact with children to receive safe environment training. Bishop Dennis Sullivan has mandated that the Diocese of Camden use VIRTUS’ Protecting God’s Children, which is a nationally recognized program for safe environment training. It consists of a three-hour, in-person training session that teaches adults how to recognize signs of child sexual abuse. It also teaches adults a five-step plan on how to prevent abuse and how to communicate concerns of suspected inappropriate behavior on the part of other adults.
Article 12 also requires children to be taught a safe environment program that teaches them about boundaries, safe and unsafe touching, safe friends and other issues.
Article 2 requires all dioceses to appoint a victim assistance coordinator. This trained professional coordinates assistance for the immediate pastoral care of persons who report having been sexually abused as minors by clergy or other Church personnel.
Article 4 directs dioceses to report all allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to public authorities and requires diocesan personnel to comply with all applicable civil laws. In 2002, the Diocese of Camden and the other dioceses of New Jersey signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the 21 county prosecutors and the New Jersey attorney general outlining the procedure by which the Diocese reports all allegations to county prosecutors.
The Charter also requires that each diocese submit to an annual audit of safe environment compliance. Since 2011, this independent audit has been conducted by Stonebridge Business Partners. The Diocese of Camden has always been found to be in compliance with the Charter requirements.
“Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal” is the motto of the USCCB in regard to children and young people. The bishops have made a promise to protect all children entrusted to our care by establishing national policies and procedures. They also pledge to heal victims/survivors of abuse by listening to them and praying for and with them.
For more information on what the Diocese of Camden is doing to protect our children, visit camdendiocese.org/cyp.
Rod J. Herrera, LCSW, is director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection for the Diocese of Camden.
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