July/August 2008
We have a limited number of back issues available in print. To request back issues, e-mail jjob@dioceseoflansing.org or call 517-342-2595. You will be charged the regular cover price of$2.50 per issue.

	Cover story In this very special cover story, FAITH interviews Maggie, a survivor of sex abuse by a Catholic priest. Maggie was only 12 when her parish priest abused her while she was in elementary school. Find out why Maggie forgave the man who harmed her physically, emotionally and spiritually. Forgive you Father, for you have sinned By Elizabeth Solsburg, Photography by Jim Luning
	feature More than five years ago, Father Larry Delaney, the director of the St. Francis Retreat Center, approached therapist Patricia Martin with a proposal to facilitate healing retreats for victims of sex abuse. Retreat for victims of clergy abuse
	feature Find out what the church is doing to protect children from sex abuse. A time for healing By Marybeth Hicks
	feature Five years ago, in the midst of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, 100 priests, deacons and school principals met at Lansing Catholic Central High School for the first Virtus training session for the Diocese of Lansing. Safe environment By Bob Horning

Forgive you Father, for you have sinned
Why Maggie forgave the priest who abused her

By Elizabeth Solsburg, Photography by Jim Luning

*The subject’s real name is not being used, nor her photograph identified, in order to protect her privacy. This story may be disturbing to young children. Parental discretion is advised.

Maggie* has no idea why the priest at her elementary school singled her out. Was it because she was the tallest girl on the junior-high cheerleading squad? Was it because of her smile? Or was it just because she was the last one left on the courtyard playground after cheerleading practice that day? The day that Father X sexually abused her for the first time. She was 12.
For the next eight months, the priest assigned to the church at her parish school molested her regularly. He would find her alone. He would have her sent over to the rectory in the middle of a school day. When she tried to protest, she was told that it was an honor to be singled out by Father for special attention. She was 12 – so she went.
The abuse continued into eighth grade and only ended when Maggie and her family moved to a new town, a new school – a new diocese.
As soon as she could, Maggie left the church.
I stayed away until it was time to get married. It was my obligation and duty to be married in the Catholic Church. That was what was expected of me, and so I had a big church wedding. Then I had my kids, and of course it was expected that they be baptized in the church, so I had them baptized.
But although she was physically present in the building, Maggie had no relationship with the church or with God. She had no trust in either one.
I put on this great front that everybody saw – a husband and children who were in catechism. I did what was expected of me and that was it. There was no attachment.
As victims often do, Maggie pushed the memories of what had happened to her away, buried them deep. She didn’t tell anyone – because Father told her she couldn’t.
He told me there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. And he told me I was not allowed to tell. He represented God, he was the end-all. I had been taught to respect that; there was no questioning a priest. So when he told me there was nothing wrong, I had to believe there was nothing wrong. When he told me that I couldn’t tell, I knew I couldn’t tell.
After they had moved into the Diocese of Lansing, she tried to forget. But you can only do that for so long.
When Maggie was 27, she finally told.
My husband had no idea when he married me that I brought this baggage – this burden – into our marriage. But it started to surface; so he was the first person I told. When I did, he was loving and supportive, but said, ‘That was in the past; let’s move forward.’ Neither one of us fully comprehended what all the ramifications would be – I was opening a Pandora’s Box. I didn’t know it, but my journey was just beginning.
The next ones I told were my mom and dad. My father had been a policeman for 30 years, so his reaction was to be so angry at the priest who had abused me. My mother’s reaction was great sorrow – I think my mother’s heart just broke for her child – even though I was grown. I was the baby and the only girl – she was sad that I never felt I could come to her and tell her.
Then I told my brothers. They were mostly shocked. One brother had attended the same school and his reaction was, “Where is he? I’m going to go find him.” He was extremely angry.
I didn’t report the priest to the bishop; I wasn’t even sure how to do that. I was also afraid of what it would be like to tell – and I later learned what often happened to others who did so: They were horribly interrogated. They were re-victimized through the reporting, and that’s a tragedy. These are people who are not out looking for money, but who just want to do what’s right and protect other children.
At this point, the scandal had not hit the news. Maggie didn’t know anyone else who had been abused by a priest – she had no idea there was anyone else.
She had told the people who were most important in her life. They had believed her and supported her, but wanted to move on. Nobody really spoke about it again. But Maggie had a lot of emotions rolling around and nowhere to take them. That’s when a friend invited her on her first parish retreat at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. On the last afternoon of the retreat, participants were invited to take part in a healing service. Anyone who chose to do so could ask the others to pray for some healing she needed in her life.
I don’t know why, but I stood up and walked to the front of the chapel and I said, “I need everybody to pray for me, for my healing, because I was sexually abused by a Catholic priest.” And you heard this intake of breath taking the air out of the room. I saw my best friend in the back of the room sobbing and crying.
It was the first time that I had acknowledged it publicly. My voice was shaking, I was trembling. I can’t say that I felt great about it, but looking back, it was that tiny baby step I needed to take.
Forgiveness had not entered my thought process yet. It was not even what I was thinking about. I was now starting to feel anger. I was beginning the steps of grief: first you acknowledge it, you bargain about it, you get angry.
I was grieving loss: my loss of innocence, my loss of childhood. The biggest loss was the loss of trust.
Maggie had felt alone until that day, but coming to that parish retreat opened a door.
When I went on that first retreat, I had never been at the retreat center before and I didn’t know Father Larry. When I got up and told my story, Father Larry said, “I want to talk to you.” He sat down with me and said, “Talk to me. What’s happened to you? You don’t have to tell me details, just tell me.” For the first time, I sat next to a priest and felt like I should feel in the presence of a priest – the care and the concern. He talked to me and he got angry about what happened to me. For the first time, someone who represented the church was angry on my behalf. He was just what I needed him to be that night; he let me talk, and no one had really let me do that yet.
My husband had had a hard time listening to me talk about this – his wife was wounded and he couldn’t fix it. I felt tremendous guilt about not revealing this before I married him – that I brought this as a burden into our marriage.
Finally, someone let me be mad out loud and was mad for me. I needed someone from the church to say, “This was wrong. What happened to you was wrong. It was evil.”
Although Maggie continued to see Father Larry on retreats, she spent her 30s roiling in anger. When the national scandal broke in the secular media, her pain intensified. The news reports were filled with the story almost every day.
And every day, every time there was another victim, it was like opening the wound.
Every time I heard about it, I was re-wounded. Even now, when I hear of a new case, I feel the pain of it. But now, for me, it’s not as intense because I have journeyed so far. But in my 30s, it was like pouring alcohol in an open wound.
It was even worse when reports surfaced about the abusive priests who had been transferred, about the victims who were ignored.
The whole hiding of the scandal is appalling. It increased my anger and disbelief. And made it even harder to trust. I was shocked by the depth of the dishonesty; people knew and tried to hide. People knew and didn’t try to protect innocent children. And I had my own children by then, so I also felt the pain and anger of a mother.
Maggie had no idea where the priest who had abused her was or what he was doing, until one night when she was lying in bed with her teenage daughter, watching the evening news. Suddenly, the face of the man who had abused her filled the TV screen. It was like he was there in her home. He was accused of doing to other children what he had done to her.
My mouth dropped and I said to my daughter, “You have to go now. I need you to go to bed now.” I needed to be alone to cry.
Immediately, a friend called to ask if I’d seen the news. And the next day, he was on the front page of the local papers. He denied everything and continues to deny it.
Maggie knew she needed her life to change; needed to move out of the anger that was tearing her apart on the inside. She needed to forgive, but she didn’t know that yet. The first step on that walk took place at two charismatic conferences she attended. At one of them, she realized the priest who abused her had taken even more than her innocence – he had stolen her name.
The priest who abused me always called me Margaret. Nobody else ever did. My attitude was: “Nobody ever better call me Margaret!” I had registered for the conference under my full name, so my preprinted name tag said Margaret. When I was having a priest-author autograph his book, he looked at my name tag and started writing, “To Margaret.” I quickly said, “No – make it out to Maggie.” And then I laughed, “Oh, you know, my parents only called me Margaret when I was in trouble.”
But that night, as I was falling asleep, I realized that my parents had never used my name in anger. Never. But my abuser always used my name, and it had become dirty and shameful and ugly to me. And it has been a process for me to reclaim it, but I did. It’s mine and I love it.
Then someone at the conference who knew her story came up to her and said something that would change her life and set her on another path.
“He’s going to go to hell for what he did to you.” And I had a light bulb moment. I said, “I don’t want him to go to hell for what he did to me.” And that was the first time I ever prayed for him. And to this day I pray for him – for his conversion. He needs that conversion – he needs to repent. God already knows the truth.
But when you really think about what hell means, I thought, “I don’t want that for him.”
She laughs a little.
Maybe some extra time in purgatory, though.
Although she leaves his fate to God, Maggie’s been told that Father X has been removed from ministry and is no longer allowed to represent himself as a Catholic priest.
She had come to a point where she realized that she would need to heal and forgive in order to break the bond that tied her to her abuser.
I knew that the man who abused me didn’t remember me, my name. He had forgotten who I was; he had moved on. I had been held hostage by him for so many years – by what he did and by my anger. Because I never forgot his name and his face.
When she was on her annual parish retreat at St. Francis after the scandal had broken wide open, Father Larry approached her with some news, and a request. The bishop wanted a healing retreat for the victims of clergy sex abuse. And when it was time to share stories, Father Larry encouraged Maggie to tell hers in the hope that others would then begin to open up and share their stories.
I had been coming here for so many years that my car knew its own way here. But coming that time was the most terrifying trip, because it was for a whole different reason. I knew that if I didn’t want to stay, I would leave – bishop or no bishop.
None of us knew each other or each other’s stories– we were coming in blind. There were six of us – we sat in a small room with Pat Martin, Father Larry and the bishop.
Then Pat Martin apologized for all the parents who didn’t believe us when we were little, whom we didn’t feel we could tell when we were growing up. She represented our parents. And Father Larry apologized for all the priests who abused us, on behalf of all the clergy. And then Bishop Mengeling apologized for the church who wounded us, was not there for us, who should have represented God for us.
Bishop Mengeling said, “Tell me what you want to tell me – how you feel, what happened, but no more than what you are comfortable with.”
So, I sat there and Father Larry looked at me, and I thought, “Oh all right – I’ll start.” And I told my story. On every retreat I’ve been on, no one gives gory details. They’re too private, and nobody needs to hear them.
The bishop listened to everyone’s story that night, no matter how long it took. For some, it was half an hour. For one, it was two hours, and she sobbed through all of it. The bishop was visibly shaken by what he heard. Because now the abuse had a face; it was the sobbing person in front of him.
One thing I remember so clearly about him is that he was so humble and filled with sorrow. We sat around the table as a group of wounded sheep who felt we had no shepherd. And here was a man who was willing to step up and be our new shepherd.
The retreat was a watershed moment, in both a figurative and literal sense. Tears were shed, and the first steps of transformational journeys were taken. And the best thing?
Having each other. Because it is like a club we didn’t choose. You get a choice to be in a book club, but you don’t get a choice to be in the sex abuse club. But at this retreat, I found I had somebody in the club with me; there were people who had an inkling of what I’d gone through. They knew how I felt; I knew how they felt. It is one of the most important components – having each other. What Pat and Larry and the bishop do is amazing, but sharing with each other is a gift. My husband and children and friends cannot understand it. Only someone who has walked this walk can understand; and that is an important part of this healing process.
Everyone who has been on a healing retreat is invited to come back for days of healing and reflection in the spring and fall. Maggie says that it’s a good time to reassess how they are doing – to offer continued support.
I’ve seen people who have grown in the way they can begin to forgive and come into a relationship with God, to find faith again. Sometimes it’s not in our church, though. People often say, “You were betrayed. How can you stay in the Catholic Church?”
It’s the Eucharist. Because the church down the road has great music and the pastor gives a great sermon, but there is no Eucharist. The church is my community, my connection. Over the last six years, I’ve grown in love with my faith. That’s a new thing for me. I love my faith, the depth and richness of it. I love the connectedness of it. I don’t know where I would be without my church. And it’s not just the church – I am in relationship with God.
Now, when Maggie thinks about her abuse, she thinks of the story of Lazarus. When Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, he delayed in coming. And Lazarus died, just as Maggie’s childhood died. But when Jesus went to Lazarus’ tomb, he wept. And then he raised Lazarus.
I now know – although I didn’t know it then – that all through the abuse, Jesus was there with me and he wept for the child that died that day. And through my healing and forgiveness, there is resurrection.
There are still struggles, though.
Some of my abuse occurred in the confessional. I go to the sacrament, but I never have the sense of freedom and release – of a weight being lifted, that so many other people describe. And it’s a place where trust is particularly difficult. I often find myself sitting with my hands clenched on my knees, my head down, on the edge of my seat. One of my confessors has noticed, and will walk with me in a parking lot to make it more comfortable.
Maggie continues to forgive – an active and continuing process, not a one-time event.
Forgiveness allows me to be free. It does not condone what happened to me as being right, because that act was evil. Forgiveness does not mean that I’ve forgotten, because I can never forget. I don’t need to forget – it made me who I am. But it means letting go of being bound by anger.
She comes back to healing retreats to help other victims – welcoming them at the door, walking them to their rooms, leaving a note and a bag of chocolates on their beds. Then, at the end of the evening, she shares her story. She models the hope of a life without anger and bitterness.
I want people who are sitting out there,who need this, to have the courage to take the first step. I know that the hardest thing is driving in that driveway and walking in the door. I greeted a man on one retreat who was trembling so violently that he grabbed on to me and wouldn’t let go. He told me later that if it I hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have stayed. He said, “I think I might need a beer” instead of chocolate. I said, “Help yourself.”
The only thing you find on a healing retreat is love, compassion, caring, understanding. As Father Larry says, there is no making excuses for what the church did. There is no trying to whitewash it, make it less than what it is. It was wrong.
The only reason you’re coming is for yourself – for your own healing and your own spirituality, and your own journey. This is a first step for a lot of us.
Maggie is a woman of great courage and great compassion. She has looked unflinchingly at evil and beaten it down through the power of faith, forgiveness and God’s healing grace. Her life transforms the horrible thing that was done to her as a child –
What happened to me was a defining moment in my life, but it no longer defines my life. It’s not who I am.

A time to heal
Retreat for victims of clergy abuse

More than five years ago, Father Larry Delaney, the director of the St. Francis Retreat Center, approached therapist Patricia Martin with a proposal to facilitate healing retreats for victims of sex abuse. By then, the clergy sex abuse scandal was being widely reported in the media, so Pat suggested the first retreats should be for those who had been abused by priests or any other official representative of the church.
Abuse by a priest differs from that of almost any other perpetrator, because of the significant damage it can do to the victim’s relationship with his or her faith, the community of the church and God.
The retreats at St. Francis emphasize confidentiality and healing. Participants have usually been in treatment with a counselor prior to coming to the retreats; the focus is on spirituality. An important part of the weekend occurs when each person shares his or her story with Father Larry, Pat and the bishop. At that point, all three offer apologies for the roles played by parents, clergy and the institutional church in the person’s abuse experience.
Pat confirms that the biggest hurdle a participant overcomes is the fear of setting foot through the door. One woman shared that halfway to the retreat house, she needed to stop and buy a bottle of wine. But once they are there, the process of healing can begin.
And Pat and Father Larry stress that healing is a process; there is no miracle cure. The goal of the retreats is to assist those who have been abused by acknowledging the abuse and its effect on their lives, but to begin to see themselves as whole persons with the potential for happy and healthy lives. By moving past anger, they can once again learn to love fully, because anger is a barrier to love. Four signs of this spiritual movement are:
• an ability to see the potential for a good and loving life
• positive feelings about themselves, with a lessening of shame
• healthy relationships with others
• a renewed trust in God.
During the years of the retreats and the follow-up healing weekends, many abuse survivors have moved from anger to the “striving and thriving” stage. They are willing to reach out to others who have been abused and encourage them to attend retreats. They have served as greeters and prayer partners, and they offer each other encouragement through telephone contact and brief letters. Many have returned to the church after years away.
As Father Larry says, “What we’re doing here is part of the ancient biblical belief and practice that healing is possible and healings still take place.”

From Bishop Boyea:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
I hope you are enjoying a peaceful and safe summer. I have appreciated your warm welcome to me as your new bishop, and I pray for you daily. I ask that you do the same for me.
As you are aware, our church in the United States has experienced grave difficulties and deep sorrow as the result of the clergy sex abuse scandal. The sexual abuse of minors is unconscionable and damages a child physically and emotionally. When a priest commits that abuse, he also inflicts serious spiritual damage. His abuse can be the catalyst that drives his victim from a relationship with God and the church. We are therefore highly motivated to provide healing and to prevent this evil.
While there has been much press coverage of these sad events, there has been far less publicity about the many good things the church has done to respond to this crisis and to help our whole society be more attentive.
I would like to draw your attention to a few of the steps the church has taken, in the U.S. and in the Diocese of Lansing, in order to create and maintain a safe environment for our children and vulnerable adults.
For example, in the United States as a whole:
• 5.584 million Catholic children (96.6 percent) received safe environment training in 2007.
• More than 99 percent of priests, deacons and educators received safe environment training.
• More than 1.3 million priests, deacons, educators, employees, volunteers and candidates for ordination have had background checks. Other than the category of volunteers, this accounts for a 99 percent rate of background checks performed.
• Since 2004, dioceses/eparchies have spent more than $31 million in therapy expenses for victims/families. This is in addition to settlement costs.
In the Diocese of Lansing:
• 14,783 people have attended VIRTUS: Protecting God’s Children awareness sessions for adults since Aug. 13, 2003.
• There have been 371 Protecting God’s Children sessions held in this diocese. Six more sessions are scheduled for late summer or fall and other sessions will be scheduled during the 2008-09 school year. View a complete schedule at:
http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/safe_environment/pgcawarenesssessions.html.
• There are 61 certified VIRTUS: Protecting God’s Children facilitators in the diocese.
• The Diocese of Lansing has hosted VIRTUS: Protecting God’s Children facilitator training in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Dioceses of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Marquette and Saginaw have participated.
• 24,699 students in diocesan Catholic schools and religious education have received safe environment training
• 8,346 people have completed a background check, including 1,834 employees, 908 teachers and 3,333 volunteers.
• Approximately 25 victims have experienced healing retreats through the St. Francis Retreat Center program facilitated by Pat Martin and Father Larry Delaney.
I believe we learn from our history. The U.S. church is determined not to repeat the mistakes that led to the scandal of recent years. In the Diocese of Lansing, any priest or lay minister who had a credible charge of sex abuse brought against him was removed from active ministry. Our diocese developed sound practices for dealing with clergy sex abuse – long before the national scandal broke. Through our prayers and vigorous action, we are ensuring our children and vulnerable adults are protected. Through our victim assistance program, we are reaching out to facilitate healing and reconciliation with those who have been wounded by the actions of a few within our church.
I ask you to pray for all of us in ministry, that we may continue to be the bearers of Jesus’ good news.

Peace of Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing

A time for healing
What the church is doing to protect children from sex abuse

When the priest sex abuse scandal broke in Boston in January 2002, America’s Catholics were shocked, dismayed and deeply hurt by what they learned. What sometimes appeared to be a cover-up of the illegal, immoral and habitual behavior of a number of dangerous predators violated the trust of the community of believers.
Only a united and determined response from America’s Catholic bishops could offer hope for the healing and reconciliation so desperately needed in the wake of such unacceptable behaviors.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) responded decisively. The bishops approved a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter) in June 2002, and revised and approved the charter again in 2005. The charter is the mandate to repair relationships and reinstate the trust of millions of American Catholics.
The goal of the bishops is to address four major areas by implementing the charter’s 17 articles – areas that reflect both the pastoral needs of the victims of sexual abuse and the protection of the church and its most vulnerable members. The charter seeks to:
• promote healing and reconciliation with victims/survivors of sexual abuse of minors;
• guarantee an effective response to allegations of sexual abuse of minors;
• ensure the accountability of our procedures;
• protect the faithful.
To assure that the mandates spelled out in the charter are carried through, the bishops established the Office of Child and Youth Protection and assigned to it several tasks:
• creating a safe environment for children and young people;
• healing and reconciliation of victims and survivors;
• prompt and effective response to allegations;
• cooperation with civil authorities;
• disciplining offenders;
• providing for means of accountability for the future to ensure the problem continues to be effectively dealt with through a national Office of Child and Youth Protection and a national review board.
In 2007, all [195] dioceses across the nation were audited for compliance with the charter and a list of those found lacking was published, reflecting the bishops’ commitment to maintaining total transparency with the faithful. “Transparency is vital,” says Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokesperson for USCCB. “After the shock that ran through the church, it is imperative that we act with complete transparency as we seek to restore trust.”
The audit process documents how well each diocese is educating its population, securing a safe environment for the children in its care and maintaining accurate records to prove its success. Audits are only one way to re-establish credibility with Catholics, many of whom still struggle with the implications of the sex abuse scandal and a strong mistrust of church hierarchy. In addition, “audits are a way of keeping the church from becoming complacent on this issue,” Sister Mary Ann says. “By conducting audits each year and releasing an annual report, we keep the issue from working its way to the back burner. We keep it top of mind.” In this way, church leaders reassure the faithful that the lessons of the scandal are ongoing.
Where the church stands today
The sex abuse scandal understandably caused many Catholics to question the authority of the church; however, the tragedy of the scandal also created an opportunity for major changes in the way the church relates to its members. Among the many policies and procedures that have resulted from the revelations of 2002 is the prohibition of confidentiality agreements designed to protect the reputation of a priest or deacon. Now, confidentiality agreements may be entered into only at the request of a victim.
In addition, the bishops adopted policies that require any reported instance of abuse to be investigated, regardless of when it may have taken place. The church will reach out to victims of abuse no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. “Justice requires that any kind of ill be addressed, no matter when it took place. This kind of crime is far reaching – you don’t just get over it. For healing to take place, we have to seek justice for victims. In this way, we seek to remove the events of the past as stumbling blocks for those who were abused,” Sister Mary Ann says. In this way, the church seeks justice by providng pastoral ministry to victims.
In addition, any instance of abuse that is substantiated will result in dismissal from active ministry, regardless of when the abuse took place. In fact, approximately 700 priests and deacons have been dismissed since 2002, indicating the seriousness with which the bishops have taken the sex abuse scandal. “It’s actually a very small percentage of priests,” Sister Mary Ann says, “though this certainly doesn’t diminish the seriousness of their crimes.
Not only are priests called to accountability for behaviors they may have exhibited in the past, but today those entering the priesthood must meet extremely high standards. “The priesthood is a calling for a person of high integrity,” Sister Mary Ann says. “A priest is self giving, and certainly anyone who would abuse someone for purposes of his own sexual gratification is not self giving.”
But changes in the way the church operates with respect to accused clergy are just one facet of the overall reform program. A major component is the drive to educate the faithful, especially parents, teachers, religious education personnel and volunteers who work with children. When adults know the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse they are able to respond proactively. Another area of emphasis is educating children on what to do if they ever are victims of inappropriate behavior on the part of adults. By training children to recognize inappropriate behavior and to report it swiftly, a predator’s ability to do harm can be limited.
“The church has made clear that sexual abuse is a crime that calls for a very serious penalty. This is why our response has been so far reaching. Any violation of the sixth commandment on the part of a priest that involves a child simply will not be tolerated.”

What do U.S. Catholics think about the church’s policies?
78 % strongly approve of the policy requiring dioceses to report allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to the public authorities.
11 % somewhat approve of the policy requiring dioceses to report allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to the public authorities.
76 % strongly approve of the zero-tolerance policy.13 % somewhat approve of the zero-tolerance policy.70 % strongly approve of the requirement to perform
criminal background checks on clergy, paid personnel and anyone whose duties include ongoing unsupervised contact with minors.
16 % somewhat approve of the requirement to perform criminal background checks on clergy, paid personnel and anyone whose duties include ongoing unsupervised contact with minors.
70 % strongly approve of the diocesan screening requirements for ordination.
14 % somewhat approve of the diocesan screening requirements for ordination.

What do U.S. Catholics know about church actions to prevent the abuse of minors?
45 % know that dioceses are to report an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor to public authorities and cooperate with investigations of abuse.
43 % know about the zero-tolerance policy, whereby anyone credibly accused of abuse is removed from ministry.
15 % are aware that dioceses must report annually on their adherence to the charter.
32 % are aware of diocesan requirements for outreach to victims and their families.

What do Catholics know about the scandal?
30 % of Catholics know that instances of abuse by priests were more common before 1985.
26 % of Catholics incorrectly believe that instances of abuse have been more common since 1985.
44 % of Catholics incorrectly believe that the prevalence of abuse was the same before and after 1985.

Safe Environment:
What is the Catholic church doing? What is the Diocese of Lansing doing?

Five years ago, in the midst of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, 100 priests, deacons and school principals met at Lansing Catholic Central High School for the first Virtus training session for the Diocese of Lansing.
“These are busy people with full schedules, and many of them weren’t enthusiastic about being there,” Sally Ellis recalls. Ellis was the newly appointed Safe Environment director of the diocese. “Three hours later, though, it was different. I knew from their response that they recognized what they had just experienced was going to fill a need for their people, and would be well-received when introduced to the rest of the diocese. One priest told me that it was one of the best things he had ever been required to attend.”
Since then, 371 Virtus: Protecting God’s Children awareness sessions for adults have been held in the Diocese of Lansing, with 14,783 total attendees. The goal is to raise the awareness of sexual abuse and present ways to detect and combat it. The program is mandatory for priest, deacons, seminarians, employees of the diocese and those who work with children under age 18.
The Virtus training is an essential ingredient in preparation for the annual audits in dioceses throughout the country. The audits check for compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, formulated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Lansing had an on-site inspection this year, from July 14-17.
The audit is conducted by the Gavin Group, Inc. of Boston. William Gavin is a former FBI investigator, as are many of the auditors. They interviewed Bishop Earl Boyea, Msgr. Michael Murphy (moderator of the curia), Msgr. Steven Raica (chancellor), three pastors, two school principals, the local prosecuting attorney, the diocesan attorney, Sally Ellis and others.
The Lansing Diocese has been in full compliance every year, and Ellis attributes that to the policies instituted by Bishop Carl Mengeling in the mid ’90s. “He made background checks and training in the area of sex abuse prevention mandatory for clergy, prospective clergy and diocesan employees,” she says. “In 2000, he issued the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures Manual.”
Ellis says that when she accepted her job, she didn’t realize the volume of work it would require. “Back then we were even doing background checks and fingerprinting ourselves in conjunction with the state police. Now fingerprinting is done electronically. But I am willing to do anything to help protect our children and to create a safe environment. I’m glad I took the job and would do it again. Fortunately, now I have an assistant, plus each parish has a liaison that I work with.”
She finds the reactions of the parents who have gone through training especially rewarding. “One of the comments I hear most, because of what they learn themselves, is that all parents should be required to attend.
“Another thing I hear is that parents would like more information on Internet pornography and the problem of sexual predators on Web sites like You Tube and Facebook. Last year, Bishop Mengeling appointed a committee to address the pastoral challenges of pornography in our society.”
She is also pleased that people now call the diocese to report potential problems. “It seems that coaches, neighbors and everyone are being observed more closely. One woman called about a neighbor who owned every toy imaginable for kids, yet had no children himself. All of the kids wanted to play at his house. People are now much more aware as a result of their Virtus training, and are being responsible in notifying us.”
Personally, she is gratified to see the steps the Catholic Church nationwide has taken in response to the sex abuse scandal, and that other groups have been noticing the progress. “I receive calls from churches of different denominations who need help with their situation, but don’t have programs like ours. Same thing with day care centers.
“And during the U.S. congressional-page scandal two years ago, where did Congress turn for help in dealing with it and potential future problems? To the Catholic Church. People are recognizing that we have made a big effort to clean up our mess.”
The Virtus program grew out of a forum held in 1998 among experts to explore whether child sexual abuse could be prevented and, if so, how? Virtus’ stated goal is to “assist the church in being a safe haven for children and a messenger for preventing child sexual abuse within the church and society in general.”
The Protecting God’s Children program educates and trains adults about the dangers and warning signs of abuse, how to prevent it, and the methods of reporting suspicions of abuse.
According to their Web site, Virtus “works on the principle that child abusers seek to operate and abuse their power within nurturing, child-friendly environments where it is assumed that nobody would want to harm a child. Religious organizations of all faiths are an easy target.” Video interviews with victims and predators show how abuse can develop and the harmful consequences. There is also question and answer time led by a trained facilitator.
The Virtus program is one way the church continues its Gospel-based mission to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Touching Safety
A corresponding program is presented to children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The Touching Safety program is a vehicle through which parents, teachers, catechists and youth ministers give children and young people the tools they need to protect themselves from those who might harm them. The acronym PAN is used to discuss acceptable forms of touching: Public (not done in isolation), Appropriate and Non-sexual.
More information on any of these topics is available at dioceseoflansing.org/safe_environment.

What do the participants say?
Deacon Jim Nicholson of St. Elizabeth Parish in Tecumseh has worked professionally with abused children for 30 years, and is a Virtus program facilitator for the diocese.
My response after attending my first session was, “Great. It’s about time someone is doing this. We need it.” I found the approach honest and healthy.
I knew that the typical person in the pew didn’t understand how sex abuse can happen, how kids can be lured into abuse,and how parents could be blind to what was happening. Virtus makes it clear. The video interviews with the predators illuminate the deception, manipulation and secrecy that they operate in; and enables us to better recognize the red flags of potential abuse. The training equips us to become protectors of children and how to report suspicious activity. If we make a mistake, that’s OK; it’s better than doing nothing.
Abuse of children is not only illegal; it’s a mortal sin. It can do great harm socially, psychologically, physically; and to a person’s relationship with God.
I am proud of the response of the Catholic Church and the diocese to this crisis. We aren’t just standing by. But we also must continue on.