Brochure on Sex Abuse Being Sent to Roman Catholic Schools, Parishes

Prompted by a national outcry over priestly sex abuse, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony has ordered that an informational brochure on the problem be sent to all parishes and schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

The brochure, “Respecting the Boundaries: Keeping Ministerial Relationships Healthy and Holy,” was first posted on the archdiocese’s Web site in August. The Roman Catholic Church newspaper, the Tidings, reprinted it on its front page this week.

Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said the cardinal decided to widely distribute the brochure because of the surge of attention on sex scandals involving Roman Catholic clergy that erupted in January with the criminal trial of a Boston priest accused of molesting 130 children.

“Cardinal Mahony thought ... it was important for him to reiterate to the Catholic faithful that we have comprehensive policies on sex abuse, that we follow them carefully and review them regularly,” Tamberg said.

The brochure is written in a question-and-answer format, answering such questions as the nature of sexual abuse; factors that might lead to it; how to prevent it; and how the archdiocese handles complaints against clergy.

It defines sexual abuse as behavior that can range from intercourse to an “inappropriate gift,” such as lingerie, or a prolonged hug when a brief one would be appropriate.

The brochure says the archdiocese will respond to all allegations of abuse promptly with a team of investigators; comply with laws requiring that alleged abuse be brought to the attention of law enforcement agencies; offer psychological and spiritual counseling to families and victims; and seek to “deal as openly as possible” with the parish community over the charges.

The brochure lists the archdiocese’s sexual abuse hotline, (800) 355-2545.

The brochure and hotline are two of 11 items that were required of the Los Angeles and Orange archdioceses in settling a $5.2-million lawsuit over sexual molestation charges involving an Orange County priest and one of his high school students last year.

The settlement also required the church to remove any employee found guilty of sexual abuse. That shift toward zero tolerance was reflected in Mahony’s Feb. 22 pastoral statement vowing that any priest or deacon found to have abused a minor “will never return to active ministry” and would be urged to leave clerical status altogether.

An earlier policy, adopted by the archdiocese in 1988, allowed the possibility of treating the guilty party and eventually returning him to ministry.

The archdiocese, with 5 million members and 292 parishes, says it has received six child molestation complaints in the last five years. Diocesan attorney John P. McNicholas said two of those are current, and the others involved adults alleging past misconduct.