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PROFESSIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESPONDING TO ALLEGATIONS OF CLERGY ABUSE

1. Welcome the person making the abuse report.
2. Receive the victim with compassion.
3. Acknowledge the victim's pain.
4. Apologize to the victim.
5. Express compassion for the victim.
6. Offer help to the victim and family (i.e. referral to counseling).
7. Become a voice of the victims which is a natural role for followers of Jesus.
8. Provide and coordinate information in an ongoing way.
9. Create forums for fears, concerns, and/or problem-solving.
10. Promote self-help and mutual support within and outside of the parish community.
11. Include sensitive integration of concerns of parishioners.
12. Assure the stability and maintenance of parish and school routine.
13. Admit mistakes.
14. Respond to allegations in a Christ-like way.
15. Offer help to people who are suffering for whatever reason.
16. Express priorities which must be the following:
    1. A clear concern for the victims.
    2. A clear concern for potential future victims.
    3. A concern for the interest of the Church.
    4. A fraternal and Christian concern for the accused.
17. Deal with the situation directly and honestly.
18. Thank God for the opportunity to intervene and, thus, break the cycle of abuse.
19. Demonstrate pastoral sensitivity to the needs of the affected Catholic community.
20. Respond to parishioners' need for the hierarchy to be present, to show leadership, and to communicate concern for the parishioners' pain and a desire to help.
21. Recognize that, after the victims and their families, the parish and the wider community are also victims.
22. Err on the side of the victims when making public announcements.
23. Inform parishioners of allegations before they read about it in the newspapers.
24. Tell the truth to parishioners.
25. Recognize that any demonic forces at work have been the acts of sexual abuse and the secrecy that hid them.
26. Promote healing in individuals and institutions by truth-telling and justice-making.
27. Acknowledge that it was the media and victims' lawyers that brought the Church problem of abuse to light.
28. Acknowledge that the Church hierarchy has been egregariously negligent.
29. Express sincere willingness to take appropriate action.
30. Listen to the victims.
31. Have first-hand contact with men and women, boys and girls, who have been violated.
32. Consider thoughtful analysis from individuals in the Church and in the media.
33. Stop efforts designed to keep victims quiet.
34. State what happened.
35. Acknowledge what the victims suffered and continue to suffer.
36. Trade the Church's culture of secrecy for openness and transparency.
37. Set transparent rules that hold the Church responsible for its mistakes.
38. Live by the Vatican II promise of consultation and collaboration with the laity.
39. Start being accountable for cleaning up the corruption in the Church.
40. Remove the priest immediately following credible accusations.
41. Call the police immediately following credible accusations.
42. Make an honest effort to find all of the victims.
43. Treat the victims and their parents and all other parishioners humanely.
44. Deal with the problem publicly.
45. Expose the wounds left by all abuses so that healing can begin.
46. Don't grill the person making the abuse report.
47. Don't ask for proof of the allegations.
48. Don't clam up and say it would be 'improper' to get involved.
49. Don't suppress, deny, ignore, or excuse what has actually happened.
50. Don't with the allegations of child abuse would just go away.
51. Don't focus on the offender.
52. Don't inflict further injury on the victims by ignoring or blaming them.
53. Don't force parishioners to rely on rumors and the secular media for information.
54. Don't claim the current clergy misconduct scandals are a demonic force out to destroy the Church.
55. Don't turn the tables on the critics and accuse them of bashing the Church.
56. Don't focus on consultation among the hierarchy and with legal and public relations consultants.
57. Don't deal with instances of crime in a detached manner, at arms length from reality.
58. Don't try to deflect attention away from the corruption in the Church by pointing out the number of ministries and social ills of the nation.
59. Don't display clinical legalism, controlling power and secrecy.
60. Don't maintain unholy silence while denying that obvious pastoral and ecclesial crises exist.

This information was compiled from some of the resources listed in the Resources section of this web site. The majority of the points are made by Rev. Stephen Rossetti, an ordained member of the Roman Catholic priesthood who has served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of St. Luke Institute in Suitland, Maryland. Fr. Rossetti has a Ph.D. in psychology from Boston College and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. as well as Masters degrees in political science and theology from Catholic University.

This list of recommendations was offered to St. Peter Parish pastor Monsignor Joseph Jarmoluk by a parishioner in 2004. The same parishioner also offered the information to the Rockford Diocese Victim's Assistance Coordinator, Dick Kunnert. Both men refused to accept the information.

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