In my job as director of the diocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection, I can see clearly how public perceptions to sex abuse have changed. We have become more vigilant, all to the good. Yet misguided by errant emotions, some will bring the unfortunate events of the past and in a perplexing manner tie them to events in the present.
For example: occasionally a student acts in a sexually inappropriate manner to another student in a Catholic school setting. When a student touches another in an inappropriate way, it is wrong and demands immediate attention. When such actions occur in schools in the Diocese of Camden, principals are trained to contact the diocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection. Every circumstance requires that the local police and the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DFYS) are called, particularly in cases where disturbing actions of a child indicate some type of sexualized behavior which require assessment, intervention and correction.
Still, even after these appropriate responses, some parents refer to these occurrences as “molestation” and in one case the implication was that one of the children might be a “predator.” One upset parent stated the diocese was “sweeping (the occurrence) under the rug” directly linking this incident with the manner in which some Church authorities handled the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
Clearly, contacting the local police and DYFS is not sweeping anything under any rug.
What’s happening here?
The clergy sex abuse scandal has been a horrific event that has rocked the entire Roman Catholic Church. Events in Europe have plainly shown that the scandal is not unique to the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. What adds to the dreadfulness of pathological priests sexually abusing children was the way in which Church authorities mishandled the perpetrators, choosing to protect the Church rather than children.
The anger about this dark time in the Church’s history is most prevalent when a child is endangered or hurt and that anger can cloud a person’s common sense and make connections that are not necessarily logical.
In the United States, there is an obvious move to recover from the scandal and to move forward. While the Church may never fully recover from the scandal, the bishops have made a promise to protect children and to heal the victims.
All adults in regular contact with children are required by the Diocese of Camden to have cleared a background check done by the diocese and to be trained in safe environment programs. Parents of children have a right to know that each parish and each school is in compliance.
Adults attend New Jersey Child Assault Prevention (CAP) sessions. Adults learn to recognize symptoms of abuse and assault and they learn to identify bullying and prevention. The children in our Catholic schools learn from CAP to be “safe, strong and free!” The children in our parishes are taught to be safe from potential predators through a program called Child Lures Prevention: Think First & Stay Safe. This program teaches children the lures, the maneuvers predators use to ensnare children. The children learn these lures and are safer. Recently, catechists from our diocese reworked this national secular program and infused it with Catholic spirituality.
Parents should always be protective of their children. That’s in their job description. Parents should know that in each and every one of our Catholic schools and parish programs, that all leaders hold the safety of the children to be of the utmost importance. The clergy sexual abuse scandal is still with us. But its effects motivate us to move forward and we join our bishops to protect our children. There will no longer be any sweeping under the rug; all is on the table now.
Rod J. Herrera, LCSW, is director, Office of Child and Youth Protection.
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