By BRIAN D. WALLACE
Fairfield County Catholic,
July 14, 2007
SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT of a Safe Environments Office in 2003,
some 90,000 people in Fairfield County have received awareness
training or materials on the prevention of sexual abuse. Heading
the office, based at the Catholic Center, is Erin Neil, M.S.W.
"We need to be vigilant at all times," she says. (PHOTO BY JOHN
GLOVER)
In the five years since U.S. Catholic bishops adopted the Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People
at their landmark June 2002 meeting in Dallas, TX, dioceses
across the country have made significant strides to instill
practices that will ensure the safety of people of all ages,
anywhere in the Church.
The positive changes that followed the Charter were
of great significance for Diocese of Bridgeport, not only because
of its own abuse crisis, but because Bishop William Lori played
an important role in drafting the Charter, which has
guided the Church's response to the crisis across the U.S.
Doing More
"The Charter incorporates appropriate standards, codes
of conduct, mandatory reporting, screening, and training," says
Bishop Lori. "The Catholic Church in the United States, including
the Diocese of Bridgeport, has done so much to protect God's
children, not just Catholic children but all children. In fact,
no organization or entity in the United States has done more
to ensure a Safe Environment than the Catholic Church."
In the Diocese of Bridgeport alone, the statistics are staggering.
Since the establishment of a Safe Environments Office in 2003,
some 90,000 people have received awareness training or materials
on the prevention of sexual abuse. This includes 30,000 clergy,
employees, and volunteers in diocesan departments, all 87 parishes,
39 Catholic schools, and 23 Catholic Charities locations who
have undergone mandatory VIRTUS Protecting God's Children
training and a background check; 14,000 students in Catholic
schools; and more than 46,000 parents and, in some cases, grandparents.
Over the past four years, 1,330 Safe Environment training sessions
have been held in Fairfield County, in seven languages.
Three independent audits have found the diocesan Safe Environments
program is fully complaint with the Charter and, in many cases,
exceeds expectations. And, since 2002, there have been no reports
of any new (current) cases of abuse of a minor in any Church
institution in Fairfield County or, in fact, the entire state
of Connecticut.
New Standard
"We accepted a challenge to change, be proactive, and establish
a new standard of vigilance in the diocese and our community
as a whole," Bishop Lori adds. "I believe we have become an
even more enlightened Church. Everyone who comes under the care
and guidance of the Diocese of Bridgeport must feel safe, fulfilled,
and enriched."
What is most remarkable now, five years after the worst crisis
of modern Catholicism, is how much the Church has learned from
the experience. Word from those who work in the Diocese of Bridgeport
and other dioceses across the country is that the Safe Environment
policies that were fostered by the Charter have been
integrated in the day-to-day life of the Church, from volunteers
serving at church fairs to young men studying for the priesthood.
While there is need for healing and the full impact of the
crisis may not be known for years, the response formulated by
the Charter has helped clergy and laity come to terms with an
issue that was originally nearly unspeakable.
Erin Neil, M.S.W., founding director of Safe Environments for
the diocese, says that since the child sexual abuse crisis came
to the forefront in 2002, the diocese has taken unprecedented
steps to confront the issue, assist victims, seek forgiveness,
ensure the safety of minors, and restore credibility. While
training within the Diocese of Bridgeport has been nearly universal
and the hard work has been done, Neil says the diocese is committed
to continuing education, research, reviewing and updating policies,
and retaining awareness so that the safety of children remains
a priority.
By the Numbers
The Safe Environment Initiative of the Diocese of Bridgeport
was launched in June 2003. Four years later, the program
has achieved some impressive statistics:
30,000 priests, deacons, religious, lay employees,
volunteers, and vendors have undergone VIRTUS Protecting
God's Children awareness training.
1,330 Safe Environment training sessions have
been held, in 7 languages: English, Spanish,
Portuguese, Creole, Polish, Vietnamese, Sign-Language.
19 training sessions in mandated reporting have
been conducted by the state Department of Children &
Family Services.
202 classroom training sessions have been held
for children and youth.
66 parishioners have become certified VIRTUS
facilitators; 120 parishioners have become local
Safe Environment coordinators.
14,000 children and youth undergone the McGruff
Safe Kids or Child Lures Prevention programs.
46,000 people have Safe Environment materials
to review at home, including parents and grandparents.
5,000 continuing ed online sessions have been
logged at www.virtus.org.
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Cornerstones
"The four cornerstones of our diocesan Safe
Environments Policy are awareness training, background checks,
open communication, and codes of conduct," Neil explains. Helping
to implement the policy are the Safe Environments Office, the
lay-led Diocesan Sexual Misconduct Review Board, and the Victims
Assistance Coordinator. Additionally, all 87 parishes have a
Safe Environments coordinator and health and safety committees
that provide other safeguards for children.
Neil credits the leadership of Bishop Lori, the 87 pastors,
lay volunteers, and the technical expertise of Catholic Charities
with making the diocesan program a success.
"Catholic Charities has been a tremendous resource," she says,
noting that Catholic Charities has coordinated the training
of 14,000 children in the diocesan Catholic school system and
provided mental health services to victims, clergy, and others.
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities Vice President Bill Hoey has personally
trained more than 1,000 people and also serves as Victims Assistance
Counselor along with Neil. He says the diocese should be proud
because it has trained more people than much larger dioceses
across the country and turned a difficult situation around.
"Early VIRTUS seminars were tense," Hoey recalls. "There
was much vocal opposition and anger expressed. What has been
striking to me is the 180-degree turnaround in people's reactions
based on the complete commitment of the program. At this point,
Safe Environments training is considered a routine part of the
life of the diocese. The success of the program has played a
large role in producing that shift in people's opinions. People
see this as a core value of the diocese, not simply compliance
with a mandate."
Eloquent Testimony
Neil believes that resistance was worn down by the acceptance
of people themselves. Early responses, such as "I am offended
that you would ask for a background check," or "This is clergy
problem, not a lay problem," soon changed to acceptance as the
parents themselves provided eloquent testimony through parish
bulletins and other sources.
Tim Dineen of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Wilton has been
involved in Safe Environments since the beginning. He remembers
a story in Fairfield County Catholic about a new training
program and thinking, "Who would want to do that?"
But the more he thought about it, the more he felt he might
be able to help. The retired Union Carbine employee was always
involved in his parish and was aware that the Church was going
through a difficult time. He remembers that the early sessions
were quite heated, with many parishioners feeling they were
being unduly put upon for a problem that was not of their making.
"I let them vent in the group and then got on with the presentation,"
he remembers. "Most left the training feeling positive, realizing
they hadn't understood child sexual abuse or how to detect and
prevent it."
Parents and Grandparents
Erlinda Zelaya, a bilingual VIRTUS trainer, has been
instrumental in delivering the training to the Hispanic community
in the Norwalk area. As Safe Environments coordinator for Saint
Mary Parish in Norwalk, she also has seen a decrease in resistance
to the training.
"Almost everyone who attends a training session is either a
parent or grandparent," she says, "and they walk away from the
training with their eyes opened to things they haven't thought
about. Many begin to think twice about where there own children
are going, who is watching them, and how best to protect them."
Liz Harakal, director of religious education at Saint Stephen
Parish in Trumbull, also believes that most adults are over
the upset they may have initially experienced. As a veteran
public school teacher for 34 years, she welcomed the training
and continues to find new ways to safeguard the 117 children
who come to the parish for religious education.
New Perspective
"The training is really a worthwhile effort," she says. "You
go away with a whole different perspective and realization.
The world of today is not the one we lived in 40 years ago.
We have to be proactive." Harakal makes sure doors are locked
once classes begin and that children are never unattended.
Harakal believes time is healing wounds, perhaps in part because
the Safe Environments program has been so successful in coming
to terms with a deeply unsettling problem. She believes personal
faith helped put the crisis in perspective.
"It never lessened my faith," she concludes. "We all make mistakes,
and we all seek forgiveness. Our faith in Jesus Christ keeps
us going, and strengthens our resolve to never let this happen
again."
(To learn more about the Safe Environments program of the
Diocese of Bridgeport, call Erin Neil: 416-1406, or click
here.)
A conversation with Erin
Neil, M.S.W.
"We've entered a healing
stage as a Diocese"
By BRIAN D. WALLACE
Fairfield County Catholic,
July 14, 2007
Erin Neil, M.S.W., is the founding director of the Office of
Safe Environments for the Diocese of Bridgeport, which opened
in 2003. When the 29- year old social worker stepped into the
new position during the middle of the abuse crisis, one could
easily have wondered how she would fare. But four years later,
Neil has overseen a program that has gained national recognition
and passed three independent audits.
On the fifth anniversary of the Charter for the Protection
of Children and Young People, Fairfield County Catholic
sat down with Neil to reflect on the challenges and successes.
"CATHOLIC CHARITIES has been a tremendous
resource in Safe Environment training," says Erin Neil, conferring
with Catholic Charities Vice President and Certified Trainer
Bill Hoey. (PHOTO BY JOHN GLOVER)
In
your view, what has been our greatest accomplishment as a diocese
in responding to the sexual abuse crisis?
It's important to recognize how well the VIRTUS Protecting
God's Children Program has been integrated into
parish life. Now we all think in terms of Safe Environments.
We use the term across the board when going forward with any
programs or plans.
I think we've entered a healing stage; we don't see the same
level of resistance going forward. But we need to be vigilant
at all times. It is easy to get "Charter fatigue" because
people feel that we've done it and been through it and are
ready to move on. We have to remind ourselves that we can't
become complacent.
There appeared to be a groundswell
of resistance when the diocese first introduced the program.
How did you overcome this?
Originally, some people would say, "I never hurt anyone,"
or "Priests have the problem, not us." It took a lot of one-on-one
communication to explain things. People had to see that they
were asked to take the training because they had an important
role to play in protecting children. It wasn't about them,
but about what we all needed to do to contribute to a Safe
Environment.
Ultimately, one of the most powerful things was the positive
testimony of parents who took the training. This changed the
culture. People realized they could indeed do something to
protect children.
Has the training been mandated for
priests and religious as well as lay employees, volunteers,
vendors, and contractors?
Yes. Every priest, deacon, and religious Sister who works
in the diocese has gone through the training. Even priests
who work in parishes for only the summer must be trained.
We've also trained more than 250 vendors and independent
contractors. We don't take much of their time, but they see
how serious we are about it and they learn that they, too,
can play a part in protecting kids. It can be a powerful deterrent.
Kids are naturally curious around a work or construction
site. That's why we require background checks and bring the
video to the job site. Some companies like Pongo the Clown
Company in Norwalk that deal with kids all the time are looking
forward to the training. It's good for their business.
Training more than 14,000 children
and teens in Catholic schools must have been a challenge, given
the sensitivity of the issue.
Catholic Charities has been a tremendous resource. Having
one counselor from Catholic Charities present the program
has eliminated consistency problems that other dioceses have
experienced. When we introduced the program, parents could
meet with the counselor, get a look at the material and how
it would be presented, and know that it would be the same
from parish to parish, school to school. They were prepared
to move forward.
Children get training delivered annually, and we're always
adding new modules such as Internet, cellphone, and technology
safety, and even cyber protection from bullying.
It appears now that the dust has settled
on the entire issue, people are able to put it in perspective,
not only in terms of sexual abuse, but the challenge to the
larger society.
Statistically, child abuse is committed by heterosexuals,
most of whom are married with children. New studies have shown
us that females also can be perpetrators. With respect to
priests, the John Jay Study commissioned by the U.S. bishops
found that 3-4 percent of all the priests from 1950-2002 were
involved.
It is important to note that there is an ongoing effort to
understand the causes and context of abuse by priests within
the Church. We're one of the only a few major institutions
in the U.S. that has ever undergone a study of this nature
and scope.
Our awareness of child sexual abuse
has changed dramatically in the aftermath of the crisis. Today,
we talk of things that would have been unmentionable in the
past. Is the program working?
Yes. There have been no cases of current abuse in the past
five years, and we've seen a significant decline in cases
from decades ago. We don't know if more victims will come
forward, but we do know that things have changed. In the past
there wasn't a place for people to come to with a complaint;
people were reluctant to disclose abuse. Today, every U.S.
diocese has a Victims Assistance Coordinator. We're much more
open as a society and more aware of the problem and its warning
signs. That bodes well for the future.
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