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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection Releases Annual Report
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2020 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The report is based on the audit findings of StoneBridge Business Partners, a specialty consulting firm headquartered in Rochester, New York, which provides forensic, internal, and compliance…

USCCB Statement on Holy See’s Report on Theodore McCarrick
I welcome the report of the Holy See’s investigation into its knowledge and decision-making regarding Theodore McCarrick during his long career as a priest, bishop, and cardinal. We are studying these findings, and we are grateful to our Holy Father Pope Francis for his pastoral concern for the family of God in the United States and his leadership in calling the Church to greater accountability and transparency in addressing issues of abuse …

Reporting system to record abuse complaints against bishops begins
A reporting system accepting sexual misconduct allegations against U.S. bishops and eparchs is in place. Called the Catholic Bishops Abuse Reporting Service, or CBAR, the system became operational March 16. The mechanism incorporates a website and a toll-free telephone number through which individuals can file reports regarding a bishop. The website is ReportBishopAbuse.org. Calls can be placed at (800) 276-1562. …

Rochester Diocese officials prepare for implications of CVA window
The Diocese of Rochester has begun preparing the faithful for what might happen following the Aug. 14 opening of a one-year
“window” into the state statute of limitations on cases of child sexual abuse. The window, one component of the Child Victims Act passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February, permits victims of childhood sexual abuse to file claims during the next 12 months…

Review board provides guidance in handling abuse allegations
For more than a quarter-century, an advisory group in the Diocese of Rochester has played a crucial role in addressing cases of alleged child sexual abuse by clergy. The Diocesan Review Board, a confidential consultative panel, provides guidance and advice to Bishop Salvatore R. Matano in assessing sexual-abuse allegations and determining whether accused people are suitable to continue in ministry. …

Sex-abuse fallout triggers uncertain summer for Diocese of Rochester
This is the second of two parts on the Diocese of Rochester’s ongoing response to the sexual-abuse crisis. Part I appeared in the Courier’s April edition. The summer of 2019 promises to be an uncomfortable one for New York’s Catholic bishops and their staffs. Last fall, the state’s attorney general launched an investigation into the handling of cases of clergy sexual abuse by New York’s seven dioceses and the Archdiocese of New York. …

Settlement process winding down
During his 14 years on the State Supreme Court bench, the Honorable Robert J. Lunn served for 10 years as a trial court judge followed by four years as an appellate court justice. In the spring of 2018, the Diocese of Rochester hired Lunn, who retired in 2008 from the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, to administer its compensation process for alleged victims of sexual abuse by diocesan personnel. …

Support offered for abuse victims
Deborah Housel is the first point of contact for those reaching out to the Diocese of Rochester to report complaints of child sexual abuse by church personnel, whether recent or having taken place decades ago. She has served since 2013 as diocesan victim assistance coordinator, a position created in 1993. The first step in the complaint process involves listening to the person and asking about the time, place, perpetrator and nature of the abuse. …

Diocese again in compliance with U.S. bishops’ charter
Diocesan policy requires law enforcement to be notified whenever officials find that someone is abusing a child. But Father Daniel J. Condon hasn’t made a call leading police to arrest anyone since 2006. That’s because sexual abuse by clergy – always perpetrated by a very small minority of priests – has become even more rare in the years since the U.S. bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. …

Statement regarding Jesuit priest
Statement Regarding Reverend Carsten Martensen The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has received notice from the USA Northeast Province of the Jesuits that they have received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Reverend Carsten Martensen, S.J. The allegation dates to the 1970s. Father Martensen has been serving in campus ministry at Ithaca College …

Diocese of Rochester Priest Placed on Administrative Leave
The Reverend Robert Gaudio, pastor of St. Christopher Church in North Chili, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into a recently received complaint of sexual misconduct with a minor, which is alleged to have occurred in the 1970s. Fr. Gaudio vehemently denies the allegation, indicating “I never did this.” No …

Statement on Passage of Child Victims Act
NYS Bishops’ Statement on Passage of Child Victims Act Jan. 28, 2019; We pray that passage of the Child Victims Act brings some measure of healing to all survivors by offering them a path of recourse and reconciliation. The legislation now recognizes that child sexual abuse is an evil not just limited to one institution, but a tragic societal ill that must be addressed in every place where it exists. …

Statement on removal of two priests from public ministry
Two priests have been removed from public ministry by Bishop Salvatore R. Matano. The actions follow an independent investigation and a subsequent review and recommendation by the diocesan Review Board, which includes lay professionals in law, child protection, law enforcement and psychology who advise the Bishop in his assessment of allegations of sexual abuse of …

USCCB Administrative Committee statement on sex-abuse scandals
WASHINGTON–The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Administrative Committee has issued the following statement today in response to the recent sex abuse scandals. In the statement, the bishops say they pledge to “heal and protect with every bit of the strength God provides us.” Turning to the Lord “When each of us was ordained as a bishop, …

Day of Penance by Priests in Union with the Bishop, Sept. 14, 2018
Feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross – In his letter addressed to the faithful on August 20, 2018, Bishop Matano addressed the very disturbing and tragic situation revealed by the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report detailing clerical sexual abuse of minors, further worsened by the reports concerning Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. …

Bishop Matano’s Letter to the Faithful, Aug. 20, 2018
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: I deeply regret that I must write to you about a subject so very disturbing and tragic within the Church. The Pennsylvania Grand Jury report detailing clerical sexual abuse of minors has been shocking and very upsetting to members within the Church and those who are not members of the Church. In the words

Letter of Pope Francis to the People of God
Wednesday September 26th, 2018 LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (1 Cor 12:26). These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of …

USCCB President Renews Commitment for Greater Effectiveness and Transparency in Disciplining Bishops
WASHINGTON— Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued the following statement. Cardinal DiNardo’s full statement follows: “In communion with the Holy Father, I join the Executive Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in taking upon ourselves his exhortation, ‘this open wound …

USCCB statement on Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is hosting a series of meetings this week responding to the broader issue of safe environments within the Church. An update will be offered upon their conclusion.In response to today’s Pennsylvania grand jury report, Cardinal DiNardo joins Bishop Timothy L. …