Pastoral Message aired on KNXT-TV during January 2008
Bishop John T. Steinbock, Diocese of Fresno
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The week of November 26, we were audited by an independent auditing firm contracted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and shown to be compliant in every area in response to the Charter of the Bishops for the protection of Youth and Young People. The Catholic Church, not only in our Diocese, but throughout the whole United States, has become a model for every institution that deals with youth. The audit was for the period from October 10, 2005, though June 30, 2007, and covered a number of different areas. It is good for you, God’s people, to realize what is being done and has been done in this area to protect our children.
First, policies and procedures to respond immediately and effectively to allegations of sexual misconduct were found to be appropriate and being followed. I do want everyone to know that there has always been immediate response to any allegation of sexual misconduct of a minor, reporting this to the proper authorities immediately for the last 16 years that I have been in the Diocese.
Second, fingerprinting and background checks have been done for all our priests, deacons and seminarians, and for over 1,100 employees of the Diocese, parishes and schools, and for nearly 7,000 volunteers in our schools and parishes. All new volunteers and new employees who supervise children go through the background check and are not allowed to be with minors alone until they are cleared.
Third, Child Abuse Prevention training has been given to over 7,800 people including priests, deacons, seminarians, Diocesan, parish and school employees, as well as parish and school volunteers who could be alone with minors. Any new employees and volunteers must go through this training before being allowed to be alone with a minor.
Fourth, a Diocesan Code of Conduct must be read by all those who will be working with children. All employees are required to sign this Code of Conduct regardless of the area of ministry in which they serve.
Fifth, the Diocese recently partnered with Child Welfare Services in three counties to certify a total of 90 new and continuing Safe Environment Trainers who provide the Child Abuse Prevention training to new employees and volunteers. I want to thank those trainers for the sacrifice of their time to help protect our children.
Sixth, including our Public School children attending Religious Education classes and our Catholic School students, from K through 12th grades, nearly 27,000 children have received safety training. We have written our own curriculum for these presentations, called “Keeping the Promise,” making them apropos for each grade level, to teach about appropriate and inappropriate touching, while emphasizing our Christian values and faith. Many other dioceses are beginning to look to our curriculum as a model for their own.
Seventh, we trained and certified over 150 adult volunteers to give Safe Environment training to parents in our many parishes and schools. I want to thank, also, these volunteers who give of their time to help us ensure the safety of children in our parishes and schools. They are a great gift of God for all of us. Parents are encouraged to attend these sessions but most, sad to say, do not take advantage of this training, but we had 9,973 parents attend during the audit period. This seventh point is far beyond what is required by the Charter of the Bishops.
Eighth, we have in place our Diocesan Review Board, which includes among others, a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist, to advise the Bishop on how to handle individual allegations of sexual abuse and to give advice in relation to the demands of the Charter.
Ninth, we have our Victim Assistance and Outreach in place to respond pastorally to anyone making an allegation of sexual abuse and to that person’s family as well, offering counseling when it is appropriate.
I do want to thank, publicly, Msgr. Myron Cotta, the Vicar General, who has headed up the response in our Diocese to the Charter and to Teresa Dominguez who is in charge of our Safe Environment Office. They both have done a great deal to see that our children are protected throughout the Diocese.
The Church was greatly condemned for the sexual abuse of children, though it was responsible for only a small percentage of the sexual abuse of children that has taken place over the years and continues to take place. Just one child being abused is a travesty. Let us work together to seek to root out this evil now in so many other institutions that deal with children and in so many families, where the major amount of abuse takes place. It certainly seems that the media was more concerned in condemning the Church than in protecting children, or we would be hearing of a lot more exposé’s in the media. The Church has cleaned its house, and it is time for all in our country to combat this societal problem. God bless you all.