People have a new way to report any suspected misconduct by bishops in four New England states.
The bishops of the Boston Province, which includes the Diocese of Worcester, have agreed to join a third party system, already established in the Archdiocese of Boston, to report abuse by Catholic bishops. A press release announcing the decision was signed by the leaders of seven dioceses.
The Boston Province includes the dioceses of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the four dioceses in Massachusetts.
Pope Francis had mandated that all dioceses around the world provide “public, stable and easily accessible systems” for reporting crimes of clergy sexual abuse and any cover-up of abuse before June 2020.
“Much has been accomplished over nearly two decades to address the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, including instituting mandatory reporting to civil authorities, protection and prevention training, and pastoral support and outreach for survivors, among other steps. However, more is required to ensure that there is an effective and independent system in place to report misconduct by bishops,” according to the press release issued through the archdiocese.
“Those who were sexually abused by clergy, along with their families and loved ones, must always be the central focus of our ongoing response to the sexual abuse of minors. There is no doubt that they have suffered greatly. In order for the Catholic Church to continue to restore trust and credibility, leadership must be committed to transparency and accountability. We hope and pray that this effort will further strengthen the work begun nearly two decades ago to offer healing,” the bishops stated.
On May 9, Pope Francis issued a document titled “Vos estis lux mundi” (You are the Light of the World) that includes requiring all dioceses in every country to establish, by May 31, 2020, a public, accessible and reliable system for reporting crimes of clergy sexual abuse and any cover-up of abuse.
“It also requires the establishment of new norms for investigating crimes by bishops and supreme moderators of religious institutes, including both allegations of sexual abuse and any cover up by way of actions or omissions intended to conceal information or to interfere with investigations,” the press release stated.
In June the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a measure to establish a third-party national reporting system for allegations or complaints involving bishops in the United States. The system will be designed to receive the information by telephone or email.
With the understanding that the implementation of the national system is months away, the bishops of the Boston Province agreed to join a program already established by the Archdiocese of Boston through an independent website, EthicsPoint.
The EthicsPoint website can be accessed at
Bishopreporting.ethicspoint.com.
The site states: “This confidential and independent system is designed exclusively for the reporting of the personal misconduct of a Cardinal, Bishop or Auxiliary Bishop of the dioceses in the Boston Province. This may include allegations of sexual abuse, other criminal conduct, personal misconduct which is not criminal, or gross negligence in the function of their ministry. The system is independent from any of the Boston Province websites and intranets. It is specific to the conduct of bishops.”
EthicsPoint provides an option for anyone submitting information to remain anonymous. “All reports will be reviewed by members of the Independent Review Board and forwarded to the appropriate authorities as necessary and to the Apostolic Nuncio, the Holy See’s diplomatic representative to the United States,” according to the site.
The leaders in the Boston Province are: Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., Archbishop of Boston; Bishop Robert J. McManus, Diocese of Worcester; Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Diocese of Springfield; Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, Diocese of Fall River; Bishop Peter A. Libasci, Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, Diocese of Burlington, Vermont; Bishop Robert P. Deeley, JCD
Diocese of Portland, Maine.
The individual diocese have procedures established to receive and act on complaints that have to do with other Church personnel.
In the Diocese of Worcester a confidential telephone line, 508-726-2880, is answered by the Office for Healing and Prevention.