PENNSYLVANIA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
Promulgated by the Diocese of Erie
Effective July 1, 2018
Policy for the Protection of Children
Statement from the Communications Office
Statement from Bishop Lawrence T. Persico
INTRODUCTION
First and foremost, the Diocese of Erie apologizes for the abuse of children caused by priests or other employees. Such conduct is reprehensible. Any efforts to conceal such conduct are also reprehensible. The Diocese of Erie recognizes its responsibility and is committed to regaining the trust of not only its parishioners but of all people.
We will shine light on the abuses of the past and be transparent in our decisions today. We will continue to work with law enforcement to ensure that justice is done. We want to specifically acknowledge and apologize to the courageous and resilient survivors and witnesses whose voices previously were unheard or silenced. We recognize the Pennsylvania State Attorney General, who — working with a statewide grand jury — gave these people a voice. They are to be commended for their courage.
KEY UPDATES
Apologies, however, are not enough. The Diocese of Erie has been developing policies, procedures, and training programs since the 1980s specifically designed to protect the most vulnerable people in our society from people that would do them harm. This web page is part of a larger program to ensure such protection. The Diocese of Erie is working with law enforcement, medical experts, survivor support groups, compliance experts, and academia to ensure that its efforts are of the highest quality when it comes to maintaining a safe environment for our children and other vulnerable populations. The most recent version of our Child Protection Policy may be found here.
Our recent updates include:
^ An expansion of the scope of the abuse sought to be prevented to include sexual, physical, emotional, and neglectful abuse;
* Inclusion of numerous detailed examples and red flags in both our policy and training materials to educate people on how to recognize abuse or unsafe situations;
* Reliance by the diocese on independent, professional investigators and lawyers to ensure the best possibility of arriving at the truth concerning each allegation, while respecting the rights of all and offering full cooperation with law enforcement; and
* The creation of a transparent and centralized system to encourage abuse reporting, screen personnel, document investigative findings, and inform the community about abuse-related employment or volunteerism decisions.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.