Introduction

Líneas Guía de América · Canadá

Introduction

Sexual Abuse and the Canadian Catholic Experience

Over thirty years ago, the sexual abuse of minors emerged as a major social and ecclesial issue in Canada. The 1984 Badgley Report, Sexual Offenses Against Children in Canada and its findings outlining the severity and magnitude of the harm involving children and adolescents, represented a milestone in raising public awareness about child sexual abuse.4 It drew attention to the sexual abuse occurring in homes, schools, sports teams, social institutions, and community organizations, while noting that the concern cuts across all social, religious, and political divides.5 As its Summary Report observed, “there are no simple or instant solutions. We believe that none can be realized without a strong commitment to develop a comprehensive and coordinated national approach involving all levels of government and non-government agencies. Child abuse is a largely hidden yet pervasive tragedy that has damaged the lives of tens of thousands of Canadian children and youth.”6

Around the time of the Badgley Report, growing knowledge and awareness of the sexual abuse of minors, particularly resulting from the scandal at Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, Newfoundland, as well as from other sexual abuse cases that came to light during the 1980s, prompted the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to circulate in 1987 possible guidelines which could be applied at the diocesan level in cases of sexual abuse by a

cleric.7 At its Plenary Assembly in 1989, the CCCB responded to victims of sexual abuse by clergy with deep concern and sympathy and mandated the establishment of a committee to elaborate additional policies to help individual dioceses.8 In 1990, Rix G. Rogers published Reaching for Solutions, his report as Special Advisor to the Minister of National Health and Welfare on Child Sexual Abuse in Canada.9 In the same year the Winter Commission Report10 appeared, and the following year the report of the Hughes Commission11 was published, both casting greater light on the Mount Cashel case. Each of these documents highlighted the seriousness and complexity of the challenge facing the Catholic Church in Canada.

THE ISSUING OF From Pain to Hope (1992)

Recognizing the need to respond to these and other instances of sexual abuse, in 1992, the CCCB issued From Pain to Hope: Report by the Ad Hoc Committee on Child Sexual Abuse. The first public document of its kind by an episcopal conference anywhere in the world, this report offered advice and guidance for all Catholics, including bishops and others responsible for priestly formation and for the clergy, together with recommendations on how to respond to what it recognized as a pervasive and extensive problem throughout society and within the Church itself.12

The vision and recommendations provided in From Pain to Hope were innovative for their times. The report included practical measures by which to address sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by clergy while also identifying some of the cultural and systemic factors which had contributed to the

crisis and the early, often inadequate, attempts to address it. In addition to serving Catholic dioceses and eparchies in Canada, From Pain to Hope was appreciated by episcopal conferences in other countries, as well.

Since the publication of From Pain to Hope, it has become even clearer that sexual abuse of minors by clergy and religious has had devastating effects, first and foremost on individual victims-survivors and their families, on all members of the Catholic Church – locally, nationally, and internationally – as well as on society as a whole. By and large, Catholics responded to initial public revelations of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and religious with feelings of disbelief, denial, anger, and shame. As victims have continued to come forward, Church leaders in Canada and elsewhere have had to address not only such feelings, but also so many broken lives, as well as their duty to repair the damage to individuals and to communities. They have also increasingly recognized that all members of the Church need healing from the harmful effects of sexual abuse.

Why a New Resource on the Protection of Minors?

A quarter of a century after the publication of From Pain to Hope, many dioceses, seminaries and houses of formation, Catholic organizations, and the wider faith community have become increasingly proactive in raising awareness about sexual abuse and ensuring the establishment of safe ministry environments. Clergy and religious, lay pastoral workers, as well as those in initial formation, continue to benefit from seminars and training workshops on the prevention of sexual

abuse. Efforts have also been made with the support and guidance of community partners to help victims-survivors to heal. Drawing on key sources such as the Winter Commission Report, From Pain to Hope, and the directives of the Holy See, a number of dioceses and eparchies have issued protocols and have made accountability procedures and reporting mechanisms more widely accessible to the public, posting this information on their websites. The experience of the sexual abuse crisis in the United States, most recently magnified by allegations against Church leaders and by a Grand Jury report in Pennsylvania, and the studies in 2004, 2006, and 2011 of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, have also helped to cast greater light on various aspects of the problem and continue to inform attempts in Canada to address it.

The need for healing and reconciliation, for repentance and conversion, and for deep ecclesial renewal remain a challenge. The Catholic faithful in this country and elsewhere have been profoundly affected by the extent and depth of the revelations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Media coverage, legal proceedings, the financial fallout combined with the failures of Church leaders to respond promptly and appropriately, and updated guidelines from the Holy See have necessitated a new resource with pertinent updates for our present times.

The protection of minors, the healing of victims- survivors, and the renewal of the Church as the Body of Christ depend not on human efforts alone, but on the grace of God. The willingness, commitment, and resolution of individuals to undergo profound conversion, rooting their lives in faith, hope,

and charity – virtues which must unite Christ’s disciples – are central to the process of healing and reconciliation. Not to be forgotten is the deep-seated Christian conviction that, in spite of sin in all of its forms, God’s mercy is stronger than anger, Christ’s forgiveness is more powerful than shame, and justice and compassion among Christ’s disciples have transformative power. Faith is what moves Christians from pain to hope. Hope is what transforms human devastation into new life, new possibilities, and the healing and reconciliation which are an experience of resurrection. With all of the above in mind, as a pledge in its ongoing commitment to ensure the protection of minors and the prevention of sexual abuse within Catholic pastoral environments in Canada, the CCCB issues this new resource entitled Protecting Minors From Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation.

What are the Scope And Aims of this Document?

This document aims to help Church leaders and all involved in Church ministry in Canada to become better informed about the sexual abuse of minors; to share in the responsibility of protecting minors and safeguarding pastoral environments; to identify how parishes and institutions can be more accountable and transparent in dealing with instances of sexual abuse of minors; and to understand better the tragic consequences of such abuse so as to ensure the adequacy of pastoral and administrative responses toward survivors and victims.14

The present document also presumes and builds upon the conviction that effective leadership and true responsibility involve transparency and the willingness to be accountable. For bishops and others in Church leadership, this means:

1) accountability to victims and their families; 2) accountability to the people whom they serve directly and to wider society; 3) accountability to one another – as members of the Church and as members of the College of Bishops or of one’s institute;15 and 4) accountability both to the demands of the laws of the Church and the laws of the land.

To Whom is this New Document Addressed?

Protecting Minors From Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation offers advice and assistance on the protection of minors and the prevention of sexual abuse to the Canadian dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and eparchies of the Eastern Catholic Churches in Canada, together with institutes of consecrated life. It is addressed primarily to bishops, major superiors,16 and all who, in view of their respective ecclesiastical responsibilities, hold positions of authority and have oversight over pastoral staff and volunteers within their respective jurisdictions. In view of protecting minors, and promoting the healing of persons and communities affected by sexual abuse, the document will also be of interest to victims-survivors, to those mandated by the competent ecclesiastical authority to work in ministry, to the wider community of Catholic faithful in Canada, as well as to Canadian society.

What can one expect to find in this new document?

This document draws together lessons learned concerning clerical sexual abuse of minors from the experience of Catholic bishops and the faithful in Canada. It takes into consideration new insights gained from contemporary scholarly research and reflection on this issue as well as the experiences of victims, perpetrators, church members and leaders. This document also includes updated and renewed understanding of the subject as reflected in the canonical directives revised in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI17 and the Circular Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith addressed to episcopal conferences in 2011.18 Furthermore, it takes into consideration Pope Francis’s priorities expressed in the establishment of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014 and his own updates to the guidelines of the Holy See.19

The present resource is organized in three parts. Part I provides a reflection on the Canadian experience and the effects of sexual abuse on Catholics in Canada since the publication of From Pain to Hope in 1992, with chapters devoted to lessons learned, the healing of individuals and communities, and signposts for the road ahead. Chapter One of Part I, which specifically addresses the lessons learned, also includes a series of corresponding recommendations or action points drawing on best practices for the protection of minors and the healing of victims. Part II provides guidelines for moving forward with updated canonical norms to assist in an effective and pastoral response to issues of sexual abuse. Part III offers a list of helpful resources including educational material and web links to agencies promoting the protection of minors. The section on resources is followed by three appendices, including a complete list of recommendations and action points. The document concludes with a Glossary, list of Works Cited, and Index.

It is hoped that Protecting Minors From Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation will make a positive contribution and difference to how Catholic Church leaders in Canada and all concerned can fulfill their responsibilities regarding the protection of minors and the prevention of sexual abuse. It expresses the clear expectation of the CCCB that all bishops, major superiors, and others in Church leadership positions be more informed, responsible, vigilant, and effective in safeguarding pastoral environments. It also echoes the urgency and hope, recently articulated by Pope Francis in his Letter to the People of God (20 August 2018), that bishops and all the Catholic faithful each take up their part in creating an ecclesial culture which prevents situations of sexual or other kinds of abuse from occurring and which also prevents their being covered up and perpetuated.