Diocese continues to fulfill Charter
EDITOR
Four months after Bishop Howard J. Hubbard voted with the majority of U.S. bishops in Dallas to pass the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," the Albany Diocese continues to implement its policies and procedures.
Immediately upon returning from the June meeting, the Bishop put several aspects of the Charter into effect, including removing six priests from ministry for abuse that had occurred decades before.
In addition, he appointed a Charter Implementation Committee, made up of staff members from various diocesan offices, to proceed with steps to carry out other parts of the Charter.
Investigator
In another move toward fulfilling the Charter, the Diocese recently hired Thomas Martin, a former senior investigator with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of the New York State Police.
When the Diocese is advised of any accusation of abuse that lies beyond the statute of limitations, Mr. Martin, who has more than 20 years of experience, will investigate it and report his findings to the diocesan Sexual Abuse Panel.
"If the accusation is found to be credible," said Rev. Kenneth J. Doyle, chancellor for public information, "the priest will be removed from ministry."
Under diocesan policy, credible accusations of abuse that fall within the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution will be referred to the appropriate district attorney.
New cases
After the Bishop removed the priests from ministry in June, the Diocese established a hotline for people to express their concerns about the issue of sex abuse and to report new accusations.
As a result of the hotline and other reports, the Diocese is investigating what Father Doyle termed "fewer than a handful" of new priests for allegations of abuse that occurred "20 to 30 years ago."
Implementation
The Charter Implementation Committee has been meeting to examine various issues. One of its goals is to put in place in the Diocese a program of prevention.
To that end, the committee is weighing the possibility of adopting the "Virtus" program, which involves training staff who work with children to recognize signs of abuse and doing background checks on staff who supervise young people.
The program has been designed specifically for Catholic institutions with the aid of expert advisors. The committee, which is still considering the effectiveness of Virtus and its appropriateness for the Diocese, is expected to make a decision soon as to whether to craft its own prevention program by expanding on policies already in place or to adopt a program prepared nationally, such as Virtus.
Victims
To continue to carry out its obligations toward the victims of sexual abuse, the Diocese is in the process of selecting a victims' coordinator.
The coordinator will be responsible for case management and ongoing assistance to victims, a responsibility which is currently being exercised by diocesan staff who have additional duties.
Lawsuit
In related news, a lawsuit, recently filed in state Supreme Court, alleges that one of the six priests removed in June, Rev. John Bertolucci, telephoned the parents of a victim last month and harassed them, causing severe emotional harm. The lawsuit seeks nearly half-a-million dollars in recompense.
Also named in the lawsuit was Father Doyle, who was alleged to have urged Father Bertolucci to make the call.
"The allegations against me are based on pure fiction," said Father Doyle, who is a lawyer. "I believe the court will deem them so, and I am looking into my own legal remedies in response."