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	Archbishop Pilarczyck Not Planning to Resign WCPO [Cincinnati OH] Downloaded November 21, 2003 During a question and answer session Most Rev. Daniel Pilarczyck said that he would not be resigning from his position within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. "The archdiocese has taken full responsibility for certain acts that occurred some time ago. Incidents of child abuse that should have been reported were not reported. I apologize. I was wrong and I am sorry it happened," Pilarczyck said. Pilarczyck also spotlighted the creation of a $3 million fund for victims of abuse by clergy or employees of the archdiocese. The fund will be available to all victims whose abuse has not been brought to closure. Pilarczyck said the fund should be ready to go early next year. "I realize that no amount of money can take away the pain and suffering of those injured by sexual abuse as children," Pilarczyck said. Pilarczyck said he hoped the fund could bring an amount of closure to victims and hoped it would make it easier for those who have been injured to forgive the church. "I never thought it would be neccessary for a bishop to be standing here making apologies like this, but it is neccessary and I express my deepest sorrow and regret. Victims, please forgive us and help us to make sure it never happens again," Pilarczyck said. Pilarczyck addressed the question of credibility when asked if he would be resigning from his position in the archdiocese. "I do not serve on my own volition, I can not resign and walk away. What we did today will not solve all the problems, there are still law suits to address. It would not be appropriate for me to walk away at this time and I don't want to walk away, I want to see this through," Pilarczyck said. Pilarczyck said that while his credibility is something that he has some control in, that he can not make anyone find him credible. "The prosecutors office has described the misdemeanors in this case happened between 1978 and 1982. I want to make clear, he didn't become archbishop until December of 1982. What he does today is talk about and acknowledge certain historical facts," said archdiocese attorney, Mark VanderLaan. VanderLaan went on to describe how over the past ten years the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been very agressive in implementing plans and safeguards to prevent abuse and to deal with it appropriately should there be allegations. "What we have seen is a radical change in terms of past behavior, we have seen a change in terms of how people work with the young people of the church on a consistent basis. The archdiocese is having more background checks and fingerprint checks than any other entity or institution in the state of Ohio to make sure that people receive the fullest amount of protection. This is the behavior of the present day and it's been an incredible advancement," VanderLaan said.
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