2018-09-28-eEdition

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 THE CATHOLIC WEEK PAGE 3 et me reassure, emphati- cally so, that I am com- mitted to the safety of our young people when they are involved in Church ministries both locally and nationally. LOCALLY: I have served as archbish- op since 2008. As your arch- bishop I report accusations of sexual misconduct with mi- nors to civil authorities and cooperate fully with them. Anyone with a substanti- ated accusation of miscon- duct with minors is removed from ministry and is not reas- signed. I state this because I realize the people of our archdiocese want to know that our kids are safe in Church ministries. I understand. I am commit- ted to this and our archdioc- esan policy for the protection of our kids requires this. Let me reiterate and reaf- firm the policies of the arch- diocese which have been in place since 2003. When I first arrived more than 10 years ago to serve as archbishop, I immediately made certain that the archdi- ocesan child protection policy was posted on the archdioc- esan website (mobarch.org ). In addition to being posted on the website for more than 10 years, copies of the policy are made available to all em- ployees and volunteers who do not have internet access. Every volunteer with con- tact with minors and all em- ployees have a background check and then are trained in child protection and required to participate in an annual retraining. Every child in our Catholic schools, parish youth groups, and parish re- ligious education programs receives an annual training in how to recognize, avoid, and report misconduct. The archdiocese has a Di- rector of Child Protection and has had someone in this min- istry since 2003. Mrs. Ginger Koppersmith has served in this role for the past 2 years and is a full-time employee. She receives accusations of misconduct with minors in- volving clergy, employees, or volunteers. She assists the alleged victim in making the accusations and investigates the accusation. Her email is directorocp@mobarch.org and phone number is 251- 434-1559. Allegations of misconduct with minors are reported to civil authorities. Along with the Director of Child Protection, there is an Independent Review Board made up of people, most of whom do not work for the archdiocese, and who come from a variety of backgrounds. The role of this Board is to advise the Director of Child Protection in addressing al- legations of misconduct. The reports from the Director of Child Protection and the Board are submitted to the archbishop and help to deter- mine what should be done in handling the accusation. An annual audit by an out- side national firm is conduct- ed to make certain that the archdiocese is following the policy to which it has com- mitted itself in order to pro- tect minors. Since this summer, the Independent Review Board, originally established to con- sider allegations of miscon- duct with minors, will now also advise in matters involv- ing accusations of miscon- duct with adults. NATIONALLY: Three clarifications should be kept in mind: 1) No bishop has au- thority over another bishop. An archbish- op, for example, has no authority over a bishop. Every bishop is answerable only to the Pope. 2) The United States Conference of Cath- olic Bishops has no authority over any bishop. An action by the USCCB is only binding on a bishop if it is approved by the Pope. 3) The Nuncio is the representative of the Vatican. He does not represent nor answer to the bishops of the US. We will continue to fol- low these policies but the sad events of the past four months, especially with the accusations against Archbish- op McCarrick, have brought the need for action beyond our archdiocese. There needs to be a credible way in which accusations may be brought against a bishop for miscon- duct with minors or adults. The current manner in which to make a complaint against a bishop regarding sexual misconduct is to contact the Nuncio (the Pope’s represen- tative in the United States). Most people are probably not aware that there is such a per- son, so it appears necessary to have a well-publicized “ho- tline,” handled by an inde- pendent entity, which people may call so that complaints may more easily be submit- ted to the Nuncio. A number of bishops have already rec- ommended this and I hope it will be placed before the body of bishops at our annual meeting in November. This needs to be done. It is also my hope that the Nuncio would avail the help of indepen- dent persons to advise him in handling complaints, similar to the independent review boards that bishops use on the diocesan level. In addition, the questions surrounding the matter of Archbishop McCarrick have raised doubts as to whether bishops are held accountable. People want to know that they can trust Church lead- ership but the profound dis- appointment of the past sev- eral weeks has created a deep skepticism.There is a concern that rot exists in the Church and even at high levels of Church leadership. In order to repair the scandal and pro- mote justice, an investigation, preferably lay-led, into the Archbishop McCarrick situ- ation is necessary. I support the statement of Cardinal Di- Nardo, President of the US- CCB, where he stated; “The questions raised deserve an- Wed., Oct 3 7:00 p.m. Our Savior Parish, Mobile, Mass and Confirmation Thu., Oct 4 7:00 p.m. Volanta Stadium, Fairhope, St. Michael Catholic High School vs Excel Football Game Fri., Oct 5 12:10 p.m. Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Red Mass for Judges and Members of the Legal Profession 5:15 p.m. St. Joseph Parish, Mobile, Mass and Reception, Called to Love Women’s Conference Pre-Event Sat., Oct 6 8:15 a.m. Corpus Christi Parish, Mobile, Called to Love Women’s Conference Mass Sun., Oct 7 10:00 a.m. Carmelite Monastery, Mobile, Mass Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Monastery Mon.- Wed., Oct 8-10 Montgomery, Annual Continuing Education for Priests Wed., Oct 10 6:00 p.m. St. Bede the Venerable Parish, Montgomery, Mass and Confirmation Thu., Oct 11 10:00 a.m. New Orleans, LA, Board Meetings for St. Joseph Seminary College and Notre Dame Seminary 5:00 p.m. Supper with Mobile Seminarians Attending St. Joseph Seminary College, Covington, LA Sat., Oct 13 4:30 p.m. Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, White Mass for Members of the Medical Professions Sun., Oct 14 9:00 a.m. Shrine of the Holy Cross, Daphne, Mass and Celebration of the 70th Anniversary 2:00 p.m. Christ the King Parish, Daphne, Mass and Confirmation Archbishop’s Schedule October 3 - October 14 A continuing commitment to pro tect FROM THE ARCHBISHOP Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi L swers that are conclusive and based on evidence. Without those answers, innocent men may be tainted by false accu- sations and the guilty may be left to repeat sins of the past.” As some other bishops have recommended as well, there is a need for an objective in- vestigation. Efforts to address a problem are difficult to un- dertake until the problem and its root causes are identified. The people of the Church ex- pect and deserve answers. In the meantime, one of the most frustrating things for many people is that there may be little that the aver- age Catholic can construc- tively do to address the state of the Church, save one, we can make the Church holy. Despite all the crises in the Church, despite all the fail- ures and sins of her leaders, despite all our weaknesses and sins as a people, God guides the Church. In our daily lives, in our parishes, in our homes, in our hearts, we are called to bring holiness into the world by the words we use, the love we show, the values we live by, the forgiveness we offer, in short, by the way we live our lives. Evil will always be pres- ent in our Church as long as the members of the Church are sinful human beings. But let us not be divided by the Evil One. It is for us sinful hu- man beings, with God’s help, to seek holiness.