Document Archive

Justin Cardinal Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia

Letter on the John Jay College Study
26 February 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the January 1, 2004 edition of The Catholic Standard and Times, I presented a pastoral letter and report concerning the compliance audit conducted by the Gavin Group, Inc. on behalf of the Office of Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. At that time, I was pleased to report that the auditors found the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to be in full compliance with the Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

On February 27, 2004, the same Office of Child and Youth Protection will issue a report concerning a study authorized by the Catholic Bishops of the United States and subsequently conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York. This study will present statistics gathered from every diocese and archdiocese throughout the country concerning allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons over a 52 year period.

Unfortunately, since no other comparable national study has been conducted, there are no other institutions or professions, secular or religious, to which the results of the John Jay College study will be able to be compared. This in itself may make it difficult to evaluate the conclusions of the John Jay College report.

The Church has always viewed sexual abuse of minors to be a serious sin, a grave moral lapse which needs to be eliminated and corrected. However, the deep compulsive nature of such acts and all their devastating effects were not fully understood. This was the case not only in the Church but also throughout society, including the mental health profession. The Church relied upon the expertise of mental health professionals in evaluating priests accused of sexual abuse of minors. In certain cases, psychologists and psychiatrists advised that some of these priests were not a threat to the well-being of children. With such assurances, the Church allowed some of these priests to return to active ministry after undergoing professional evaluation and treatment.

However, as the Church and mental health professionals, as well as all society, gained greater insight and understanding into the nature of sexual abuse of minors, stronger measures were seen to be necessary and they were taken by the Church. Our own archdiocesan experience supports the fact that fewer incidents of sexual abuse of minors by clergy have occurred since 1993 when the United States Catholic Bishops issued their document Restoring Trust. In this document, the Bishops called for dioceses to take greater measures in assisting victims and in dealing with offending clerics.

Here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, from 1950 through 2003, a total of 2,204 diocesan priests have served the faithful within the Archdiocese. Of this number, allegations made against 44 of these priests were determined to be credible. This represents 2% of diocesan priests serving during these years. I wish to assure you that none of these priests are in active ministry today.

In addition to the diocesan priests, many priests of religious congregations have served within the Archdiocese. It is difficult to determine the number of these priests since they are regularly assigned to other dioceses throughout the course of their priestly ministry. However, any allegation brought forth against a priest of a religious congregation is immediately referred to and handled by his respective superior.

Even prior to the Bishops' Charter, the Archdiocese was committed to offering counseling assistance to those bringing forth allegations of sexual abuse as minors, whether or not the allegations were determined to be credible. Currently, our Archdiocesan Assistance Coordinators are providing professional counseling for 41 individuals. From 1994 through 2003, an average of $125,000 has been paid annually by the Archdiocese for this counseling. You may wish to know that funding for this counseling did not come from any archdiocesan collection, parish assessments or other forms of restricted donations from the faithful.

The Archdiocese continues to reach out to those who are victims of sexual abuse as minors by priests. My predecessor Cardinal Bevilacqua met personally with a number of victims to listen to them relate their personal story in order to appreciate their tragic experiences and to offer appropriate measures of assistance. Since coming to Philadelphia, I also have begun such meetings and remain willing to meet with individual victims.

In the meantime, the Archdiocese continues its many outreach services to victims and its commitment to a safe environment. Our Archdiocesan Assistance Coordinators are available to anyone who wishes to call and report incidents of sexual abuse of minors. Instructional sessions concerning our Safe Environment Program continue throughout the Archdiocese. All priests, deacons, religious and laity who have regular contact with children are obliged to attend these sessions and to sign a document indicating that they have read and will abide by the Archdiocesan Policy, Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries. So far, over 17,000 adults have been trained. Additionally, the Archdiocese is conducting police and child welfare background checks and intends to update these every five years.

The Archdiocesan Review Board continues to work diligently and professionally to fulfill their mandate to offer confidential advice in these matters. I am grateful for their expertise and assistance.

With profound sorrow, I offer deep apologies to the victims of sexual abuse by any cleric or church employee. I assure everyone of the Archdiocese's commitment of steadfast perseverance to ensure compassionate concern to those who have suffered as well as a safe environment for all our children.

In these penitential days of Lent, we hear the Gospel's recurring call to ongoing conversion and we humbly recognize Jesus as our only Lord and Savior. May we rededicate ourselves to the call to holiness through reception of the Sacraments, through prayer, penance and the contemplation of the face of Christ. In this way we open ourselves to His grace and, by accepting His grace into our lives, we will share more deeply in His victory over sin and death.

Sincerely in Christ,

Cardinal Justin Rigali

Archbishop of Philadelphia