2004 Audit Executive Summary: Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, Southfield, Michigan

Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim
Previous Audit Conducted October 27, 2003

The information found herein represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of October 12-15, 2004.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation (Articles 1, 2 and 3)

The Eparchy has a policy on the prevention of sexual abuse of minors by clergy that has been adopted from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The Eparchy has an outreach program designed to offer pastoral care to victims/survivors and their families, but to date it has not been put to use since there have been no reported incidents of sexual abuse. The Bishop or his representative has offered to meet with all victims/survivors who wish to make allegations of abuse, but no such persons have come forward. The Bishop has a policy designed to direct outreach to all faith communities in which sexual abuse may occur, but to date no such abuse is known to have occurred. The Eparchy has a mechanism in place to respond promptly to any allegation where there is reason to believe that sexual abuse of a minor has occurred.

The Eparchy has a victim assistance coordinator, Mrs. Janan Senawi, who is a certified social worker with many years of experience in family counseling. The Eparchy entered into an agreement with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit in November, 2003 to utilize the services of the Archdiocesan Review Board as may be required. The Review Board consists of seven members, including two judges, an attorney in private practice, a prosecutor, a businessman, a psychologist and a pastor. The Board is prepared to serve as a confidential consultative body to the Bishop.

The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form, and are the subject of periodic public announcements. The Eparchy has not entered into any confidentiality agreements during the audit period.


To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor (Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7)

The Eparchy had no allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to report to public authorities since the last compliance audit. The Eparchy complies with all applicable civil laws with respect to the reporting of allegations of sexual abuse of minors to civil authorities. By agreement, the Eparchy will work through the Archdiocese of Detroit in dealing with the civil authorities regarding allegations of sexual abuse that may come forward. The Archdiocese of Detroit has established effective liaison with the appropriate civil authorities, ensuring that an open dialogue will occur as necessary. The Eparchy has a policy dictating cooperation with public authorities about reporting in cases when the person is no longer a minor, but has had no such cases to report. The policy of the Eparchy is that all victims/survivors will be advised of their right to report allegations of abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities.

The policy of the Eparchy provides that if an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest is received, a preliminary investigation, in harmony with canon law, will be initiated. If a preliminary investigation so indicates, the eparchial policy provides for notification to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and application of the precautionary measures mentioned in CIC, canon 1722, or CCEO, canon 1473. Policy also provides that should an accusation against a priest be determined to be unfounded, the Eparchy would take steps to restore the good name of the priest.

Eparchial policy provides that should sexual abuse of a minor by a priest be admitted or established after an appropriate process in accord with canon law, the offending priest will be permanently removed from ministry. Eparchial policy also provides for an offer of professional assistance to offending priests.

Eparchial policy provides that in every case involving canonical penalties, the processes provided for in canon law will be observed. It is the policy of the Bishop that accused clergy would be encouraged to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel and that, should it be necessary, canonical counsel would be provided by the Eparchy.

Eparchial policy provides that if the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state has not been applied in an applicable case, the Bishop will direct the offender to lead a life of prayer and penance and will not allow him to celebrate Mass publicly, to administer the sacraments, or to present himself publicly as a priest.

The Eparchy has established clear and well-publicized standards of ministerial behavior for priests and other individuals having regular contact with children. A communications policy is in effect which reflects the Bishop's pledge to be open and transparent on issues regarding the sexual abuse of children. Eparchial policy provides for assistance and support to all parish communities that may be directly affected by ministerial misconduct involving minors.


To Protect the Faithful in the Future (Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17)

The Eparchy has implemented a "safe environment" education program. The educational program for children is “Touching Safety” and will be implemented by December 31, 2004 subsequent to training of religious education instructors; the educational program for parents, priests, educators, volunteers and employees is “Protecting God’s Children”. The Eparchy has clear and well publicized standards of conduct for persons in positions of trust with regard to sexual abuse. The Eparchy conducts background evaluations for all eparchial and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors, using appropriate law enforcement resources where permissible. The Eparchy utilizes the resources of the Archdiocese of Detroit to ensure adequate screening and evaluation in deciding the fitness of candidates for ordination.

The Eparchy has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse made against him to another ministerial assignment since the last audit. The Eparchy has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse made against him to another eparchy for residence since the last audit. It is noted that there have been no allegations of sexual abuse by priests assigned to the Eparchy.

There are no Eastern Rite religious order priests present in the Eparchy, and therefore no opportunity to coordinate with major superiors. The Eparchy has not had the opportunity to participate in research with other institutions in the area of sexual abuse. The Eparchy utilizes the resources of the Archdiocese of Detroit in providing an ongoing formation program to its priests in keeping with the Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.


Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this compliance audit, the Eparchy was found to be compliant with all articles of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

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Office of Child & Youth Protection | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.





Office of Child & Youth Protection | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.