WASHINGTON—The
National
Review Board (NRB) has issued the following in
response to the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report and recent allegations
against Archbishop McCarrick. In the
statement, the NRB calls for a lay-lead investigation into all allegations of
sexual misconduct within the Church as well as strengthening the Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People. Established in 2002, the purpose of the
National Review Board is to work collaboratively with the Committee for the
Protection of Children and Young People in preventing the sexual abuse of
minors in the United States by persons in the service of the Church.

The
full National Review Board statement follows:

“While the policies
and procedures that have been
implemented by the Church since 2002 to address the sexual abuse of minors by
the clergy have resulted in a significant decrease of such abuse, the
revelations of horrific incidents of abuse in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury
Report, along with the abuse perpetrated by Archbishop McCarrick point to a
systemic problem within the Church that can no longer be ignored or tolerated
by the episcopacy in the United States.
The National Review Board has for several years expressed its concern
that bishops not become complacent in their response to sexual abuse by the
clergy. The recent revelations make it
clear that the problem is much deeper.
We are saddened, angry, and hurt by what we have learned in the past few
weeks. The evil of the crimes that have been perpetrated reaching into the
highest levels of the hierarchy will not be stemmed simply by the creation of
new committees, policies, or procedures. What needs to happen is a genuine
change in the Church’s culture, specifically among the bishops themselves. This evil has resulted from a loss of moral
leadership and an abuse of power that led to a culture of silence that enabled
these incidents to occur. Intimidation,
fear, and the misuse of authority created an environment that was taken
advantage of by clerics, including bishops, causing harm to minors,
seminarians, and those most vulnerable.
The culture of silence enabled the abuse to go on virtually unchecked. Trust was betrayed for the victims/survivors
of the abuse; the entire Body of Christ was betrayed in turn by these crimes
and the failure to act.

“The National Review
Board firmly believes, as has been expressed by several bishops in recent days,
that the episcopacy needs to be held accountable for these past actions, and in
the future, for being complicit, either directly or indirectly, in the sexual
abuse of the vulnerable. Holding bishops
accountable will require an independent review into the actions of the bishop
when an allegation comes to light. The
only way to ensure the independence of such a review is to entrust this to the
laity, as recently suggested by Cardinal DiNardo. The NRB, composed exclusively of lay members,
would be the logical group to be involved in this task. Establishing an anonymous whistleblower
policy, as is found in corporations, higher education and other institutions in
both the public and private sector, that would be independent of the hierarchy
with participation by the laity, perhaps the NRB, who would report allegations
to the local bishop, local law enforcement, the nuncio and Rome, needs to be
established immediately. Another problem
that needs to be addressed is the Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People. The Charter has been helpful in the Church’s
response to sexual abuse by the clergy.
However, the Charter should be
understood as a living document that is in constant need of revision based on
what we have learned and experienced over the years, as well as current new
realities. The members of the NRB have on numerous occasions pointed out the
weaknesses in the Charter given its
deliberate ambiguity and its lack of inclusion of bishops. During the most recent revision process of
the Charter, many of the
recommendations made by the NRB to strengthen the Charter were not incorporated for a variety of reasons. These recommendations need to be
re-considered in light of the current situation, as well as the inclusion of
bishops in the Charter. The NRB also believes that the statement of
Episcopal Commitment is ineffective and needs to be revised into a meaningful,
actionable commitment. In particular,
the notion of “fraternal correction” must outline concrete steps that will be
taken when a bishop is alleged to have committed sexual abuse or has failed to
respond immediately and without hesitation when a cleric is accused of sexual
abuse. To ensure that bishops undertake
their obligation to act decisively when they have knowledge of incidences of
sexual abuse committed by the clergy or their brother bishops, there must be
substantive formation of newly appointed bishops on their responsibility as
moral leaders within the Church, especially in responding to sexual abuse,
something which is currently lacking.

“Since its creation in
the Charter, the NRB has sought to
provide its advice to the bishops to assist them in addressing the sexual abuse
of minors. We will continue to work with
the bishops, particularly in responding to Cardinal DiNardo’s request for the
NRB’s assistance in the proposed investigation he has called for regarding
recent revelations. In the coming weeks, the NRB will consider what
recommendations to make to the bishops in light of that request. We recognize that the overwhelming majority
of our current bishops have, and continue to, take the sexual abuse of minors
seriously and who act accordingly by adhering to the Charter, some even going beyond these basic requirements. However, every time one bishop fails to act,
the entire episcopate is tainted. It is
time for the laity to assume courageous leadership to help the Church respond
and to heal and for the bishops to listen carefully to our recommendations. We
need not only to pray for the Church and most especially for the
victims/survivors and their families who have been wounded by this terrible
scourge, but we must take concrete action to address the systemic problems
underlying the problem of sexual abuse in the Church.”

More
information on the National Review Board can be found at: www.usccb.org/about/child-and-youth-protection/the-national-review-board.cfm

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Keywords:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Cardinal Daniel N.
DiNardo, Bishop Timothy L. Doherty, Committee for the Protection of Children and
Young People, Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, Pennsylvania, Grand
Jury Report, sexual abuse, clergyman, U.S. bishops, Charter for the Protection
of Children and Young People, prevention, accompaniment, accountability,
justice.

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Media Contact:

Judy Keane

202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops