February 6, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 3Oakland, CA

Survivors tell bishops about desired
responses to incidents of clergy abuse

By Voice staff

The Response and Prevention Project of the U.S. Catholic bishops has released the results of a national survey asking victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse how dioceses and parishes can develop appropriate responses to others who have also suffered this abuse.

The survey was designed to elicit direct input and to provide survivors the opportunity to voice their thoughts and express their feelings, said Mary A. Lentz, an attorney who served as project director. The resulting report is based on four focus groups for victims conducted in the spring of 2004 as well as a Web-based survey. The latter received more than 1,300 actual responses, plus another 31,554 hits on the Web site.

Covering a variety of topics, the survey asked survivors what kinds of coping mechanisms they used following their abuse, what responses they received from diocesan officials, how their cases were handled and their recommendations for responding to new cases.

Coping mechanisms ranged from mediation and prayer to avoiding any involvement with the Church. Survivors mentioned seeking counseling/therapy and spiritual direction; keeping a journal, helping others, learning more about the dynamics of sexual abuse, reporting the abuser, becoming involved in a support group, acknowledging that sexual abuse is not the fault of the victim/survivor, and trying not to abuse drugs, alcohol, sex, or prescription drugs.

Over 52 percent of the 787 respondents, who answered a question about further contact with their abuser, responded that the survivor should not have contact with the abuser.
Another 47.9 percent recommended that contact should take place either in person, in writing, by telephone, or with another person present.

Asked to write a narrative listing recommendations as to how other survivors can best begin their healing journey, 86.1 percent recommended counseling, and 66.8 percent said that survivors needed to contact law enforcement. Another 61.7 percent recommended that the abuse be reported to the diocesan/eparchy/religious order.

The most frequent responses suggested that survivors contact national support groups and talk with others like themselves. Some respondents suggested that a lawyer be contacted while an equal number recommended that lawyers be kept out of the process.

Over 600 people addressed how diocesan actions could have made a substantial difference in a survivor’s healing. Their consensus was that Church officials lacked prompt response and failed to believe the survivors when they made their reports. People wrote of the Church’s “rapid, but empty” responses; no responses; officials’ belief that the abuser was innocent and that survivor was at fault.

When asked to recommend helpful actions that Church officials could provide, survivors cited direct apologies, prayer, comfort, continual communication, and spiritual support.

Other recommendations included providing networking opportunities among survivors, making certain the perpetrator accepts responsibility, taking seriously all accusations and suspicions, removing all hierarchy who aided the abuser, educating people about what sexual abuse really is, mediating a just compensation, paying for therapy and medical treatment for survivors, and telling survivors where to report sexual abuse.

They also recommended that dioceses establish a confidential hot-line to report sexual abuse, carefully study seminary formation, acknowledge that sexual abusers cannot be cured, remove all sexual abusers from active ministry, prohibit any sexual abuser from access to children alone, stop transferring abusers, release names of all abusers, address child sexual abuse as a known societal problem; and implement education programs regarding sexual abuse.

Results of the survey can be accessed at: www.usccb.org/ocyp/rpproject.shtml

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