Hartford, Monday, February 23, 2004:  The Archdiocese of Hartford today released details of a 52-year analysis of clerical sexual abuse as it relates to the Archdiocese.

The data shows a very small number were involved in allegations of sexual abuse.  Of 1413 diocesan priests serving in the Archdiocese of Hartford from 1950 to 2002, 20 priests or 1.42% had substantial allegations of the sexual abuse of children brought against them.

 John Jay Report

In June of 2002, the U.S. Catholic Bishops approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and created a National Review Board, which oversees the implementation of the Charter provisions by dioceses around the country.  The National Review Board also was charged with the task of commissioning a comprehensive study of the causes and context of child sexual abuse within the Church in order to identify and clarify the nature and scope of the problem.  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s authorized the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York to conduct a comprehensive national study of all 195 dioceses and eparchies in the United States.  That study covered the period from 1950 to 2002.  The National Review Board will report the complete results of The John Jay study on 2/27/04.

 In releasing the statistics from The Archdiocese of Hartford, Archbishop Henry Mansell said, “While the actual statistics over the period covered by the survey are relatively minimal in scope, even one perpetrator, -one victim, is one too many.  Clearly, history cannot be changed.  However, we can make sure that history is not repeated.”

 The following is a summary of the statistics from the Archdiocese of Hartford, during the period 1950-2002:

v     Total number of diocesan priests who have served in the Archdiocese of Hartford, ordained in Hartford and visiting:  1413

v     Total number of diocesan priests against whom substantial allegations of child sexual abuse have been made:  20 priests, or 1.42%

v     There were a total of 56 victims; most of the allegations date to the 1960s and 1970s.  Of the 20 priests involved, 8 are deceased, 10 no longer have active ministry assignments, 1 has been excardinated (his relationship with the Archdiocese of Hartford was formally terminated many years ago), and 1 has been laicized (formally left the priesthood and returned to the lay state.)

 FINANCIAL SETTLEMENTS

A total of $2,045,115 has been paid to compensate victims and/or provide counseling to victims.  Of that total, $1,418,705, or 69%, has been paid by insurance and $626,410, or 31%, has been paid by the Archdiocese through a self-funded insurance reserve.

 COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN

The John Jay Study, which has no known counterpart in any other profession, is part of the attempt by the U.S. Bishops to make sure this terrible problem will not recur.  The Archdiocese of Hartford, in particular, continues its commitment to work to protect the safety of all children and young adults.  An indication of this commitment is its ongoing cooperation with the State of Connecticut, Department of Children and Families (DCF), in regard to the reporting of claims of sexual misconduct to minors, even though those claims relate to misconduct from the distant past, almost exclusively from the 1960s and 1970s.  In addition, the Archdiocese sponsored an educational seminar for its priests, conducted by a representative of DCF, which focused on child abuse and neglect, and at which attendance by all priests was mandatory  (By increasing their knowledge and awareness of these issues, our priests will be better able to serve their parishioners and their communities at large.)

 The Archdiocese of Hartford has had a written policy in place for dealing with allegations of child sexual misconduct since 1990, that is, twelve years prior to The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.  Recently, that policy was updated with the latest recommendations and requirements of the Charter, in order to provide even greater safety and wellbeing for children and young people.  Some examples of updates include:

v     The initiation of a Safe Environment Program to provide training to personnel of the Archdiocese who have regular contact with children and young people, about inappropriate behavior and warning signs of possible abusive behavior

v     Expanded background checks for personnel who have regular contact with children and young people

v     The creation of a Victims Assistance Coordinator to help provide and coordinate assistance to victims

v     A new review board established, the majority of whose members are lay people  (The lay members of the review board have experience in such fields as psychiatry, psychology, education, law enforcement, juvenile court matters, parenting, etc.)

v     Updating and circulating the Archdiocesan policy relating to sexual misconduct involving minors, and creating and circulating a  Code of Ministerial Behavior to define certain specific guidelines of acceptable and unacceptable conduct for personnel of the Archdiocese who have regular contact with children and young people  (Copies of both documents can be found on the Archdiocese's website www.archdioceseofhartford.org)

 TOTAL COMPLIANCE

Recently, The National Office of Child and Youth Protection found the Archdiocese of Hartford to be in total compliance with the requirements of the new Charter.  That report was the result of a weeklong audit conducted in June 2003 by the auditors from the Gavin Group, Inc.  The Archdiocese of Hartford exceeded the strict requirements and received two commendations:  one for the Victims Assistance Office and one for outreach education to all clerics in the Archdiocese. 

According to Archbishop Mansell, “That favorable report confirmed the continuing efforts being made by the Archdiocese of Hartford to promote the safety of children and young people and to reach out with compassion to help in the healing of any victims.  The Archdiocese of Hartford deeply regrets that any child or young person was ever harmed by one of its priests or by anyone serving on its behalf.  It remains committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.  The Archdiocese of Hartford has taken and will continue to take responsible action to try to prevent any future abuse from occurring and to try to bring about healing on the part of any victims.”

Father John P. Gatzak, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Hartford, is available today for interviews.

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