Media Statement

By Kristine Ward
National Survivor Advocates Coalition
June 13, 2012

http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/press-release/

National Review Board Report to the USCCB on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People

We couldn't be more disappointed in the National Review Board's report and its accompanying huge loss of a special opportunity for genuine, effective protection of children at this 10 year anniversary point of the Charter.

The National Review Board chose to speak to and comfort its constituency which is, of course, the Bishops, instead of taking on the prophet role and speaking truth to power.

The job of Catholicism is to change the world, radically confront the culture, and afflict the comfortable. The National Review Board decided to take a pass.

We cite a few examples:

- there is not even a slap on the wrist for Bishop Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for sitting on information for at least six (6) months regarding Father Shawn Ratigan and child pornography;

- there is no mention that there are no teeth in the audit system, but somehow in the 2012 audit process diocesan officials are going to "robustly" provide documentation. How will anyone know if the information is complete or accurate? There is no subpoena power or anything close to it – auditors get the information bishops want to give them.

- there is no mention, let alone an urgency to move on the issue of accused priests whose cases have been sent to the Vatican for laicization. These cases have languished at the Vatican while Catholics continue to pay salaries and benefits to these priests.

- the board recommends annual "dialogue" between the bishops and religious superiors regarding sexual abuse in religious communities saying mildly that 10 years is too long for this huge loophole of non-reporting to remain open. The recommendation is to talk. There is no recommendation for consequences, no use of hierarchial authority, no teeth recommended, let alone urged.

- the National Review Board touts numbers in training programs in parishes. We remind Catholics that it was not lay people who created this crisis and that fingerprinting only pulls up in law enforcement's computers those who have records — priests and religious brothers and religious sisters who were never reported to police will never turn up in a fingerprint check.

- the National Review Board warns against "Charter drift." The document is no weak that a slight breeze could blow it over; drifting from it takes no thought at all.

The National Review Board has taken the bush league approach and repeated the canard that there has been a decline in the number of cases of sexual abuse.

The truth is the only way the Church and society can know how many victims and how many perpetrators there are is through the courage of the survivors who come forward to tell their stories or file lawsuits or file police reports.

Today's report hardly creates a climate inviting to survivors to come forward. In fact, it does the opposite. The casualty here remains children.

Contact: KristineWard@hotmail.com