Survivors' Voices: Since the Dallas Charter
As you may know, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, often called "the Dallas Charter," is the set of policies put in place by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002, in the wake of the attention brought to clergy sexual abuse by the Boston Spotlight investigations.
Twenty years later, some Catholics tend to think of sexual abuse and cover up in the Catholic Church as issues that were "fixed" by the Dallas Charter. While important improvements have been made, anyone who listens to abuse survivors knows there are still ongoing problems.
I am grateful for the panelists who submitted reflections bringing this complex reality to light.
Having worked for two dioceses, including Dallas, from 2002 to 2009 and 2012 to 2018, my observation is that nothing has really changed except the way the narrative is handled. The public is not getting the transparency that mandated programs promise. I am an adult victim so I see this through victim's eyes. I am looking for the change. I have even volunteered recently in my current diocese as a victim advocate. I am appalled.
I actually witnessed the Dallas charter work once. My grandfather had very scant and inappropriate boundaries with his sexuality, particularly around children. I'll leave it at that. He was studying to be ordained to the permanent diaconate, and two days before his ordination received a call from the diocese. Someone had contacted them saying they did not think he should be ordained, and the diocese felt that they had an obligation to investigate before going any further. He refused the investigation, and wasn't ordained. Knowing what I know about the man, I'm convinced that saved at least one person from harm. Probably more. It didn't save me from my abuser, but it did save some people.
I reported my abuse (which happened in 1994) to the Church in 2006. I came forward after discovering (through a Google search) that the priest who had assaulted me was still an active priest, assigned to a parish with a school. Within days of my initial conversation with the Archdiocese’s VAC, the priest was placed on Administrative Leave. What followed was a 12-year process that ultimately ended with the priest being laicized (at his own request) in 2018. Throughout that time, it became increasingly clear to me that the Church would always prioritize its own interests above my healing, and above the safety of the public. Ultimately, what has been the most harmful to me is the Archdiocese’s unwillingness, to this day, to be transparent with me about what was done with my complaint. Getting any sort of information from the VAC or the Archdiocese’s Delegate for Investigations is like pulling teeth. Worse, the little information that they have verbally given me (e.g., that they had received “at least one other report” of a similar nature about this particular priest; that the Review Board had “unanimously” determined that my report was "credible") conflicts with what they have said publicly—which is that my allegation was “unsubstantiated.” My belief is that this priest was encouraged to request laicization so that the Church would not have to concede to or acknowledge his actions. In doing so, the Church has put the public at risk of this individual who, while no longer a priest, is still in his 50s and has unfettered access to children. The Church’s claim that it is invested in “protecting God’s children” is one that rings hollow to me.
When I told my story of childhood sexual abuse by a priest to officials of the Archdiocese of Chicago back in 2006, the way in which my story was handled was positively impacted by the Charter. Approximately 16 years later, I feel there is on-going progress in healing victims and on-going progress in protecting children. I accept outreach services from the vibrant and pastoral Assistance Ministry Office, which is offered to all victims in every diocese, and which is outlined in the Charter. Also, I've informed myself about Virtus Protecting God's Children safeguarding programs, as outlined in the Charter, which helped my wife and I feel comfortable to send our children to Catholic schools.
I was 4 years old in 2002 when the Dallas Charter was promulgated, so I don't really have experiences before it. But living in a diocese that was rocked by abuse in 2018, which was at the end of the time period of my own abuse, I noticed that so many people in power used its existence as an excuse: "This is terrible stuff, we know: But the Dallas Charter! But VIRTUS training! But Safe Environment! We've done the work! We're not to be blamed!" It's an incredibly minimizing position to be forced to hear over and over again by the diocese who has refused to act on my own report of abuse. I'm not saying that I blame anybody - I'm saying that it's not enough to have a policy if the policy doesn't work.
If you have experienced sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, I would be grateful to include your own perspectives on the topic of “since the Dallas Charter.” You can find information about joining the Survivors’ Voices Panel here: An Invitation for Survivors.
I will have more perspectives on this topic next week, so please subscribe here if you’re not already signed up.
Thank you,
Sara