Children and Laity Remain at Risk in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

For many years the Catholics4Change community of laity, parents, and clergy abuse survivors has communicated to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia many ways that they could improve safety for all. Especially children. Many years. We have emailed Leslie Davila of OCYP/ Victims Assistance and John Delaney of Archdiocese Investigations. I have had several phone conversations with both Leslie and John.

Lynn Shiner, who was the wonderful victim advocate for the IRRP program, provided me the opportunity to join conference calls with the Oversight Committee of the IRRP program who were evaluating the child protection policies of the Archdiocese. In my last phone call with the Oversight Committee in September of 2021, three years into their assignment , they seemed to have no knowledge of the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

It is a series of continuous brick walls in improving the safety of the children and laity in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

We will begin with some very basic recommendations that the C4C community has communicated to the Archdiocese over many years. The Standard of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries begins with a legal preamble that we cannot find in any other diocese. While many dioceses begin their Standards with a prayer, in Philly we start with a legal disclaimer. This is unique to our diocese. We have asked many times that this legal preamble be removed.

I. Introduction
The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries (the
“Standards of Ministerial Behavior” or “the Standards”) are
applicable to all priests, deacons, religious, pastoral ministers,
administrators, staff and volunteers in the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia. They are intended to provide clear standards
of behavior and, in particular, a blueprint for the boundaries
of appropriate behavior in all interactions with children and
young people. The Standards are not intended to create
any rights in any person, to obligate the Archdiocese to
act at any time or in any manner, or to establish any
responsibility or liability of the Archdiocese.

The Standards can be found here https://archphila.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/AOPVA-Standards-of-Minst-Behvrl-0511.pdf. Last updated in 2003 other than a technology addendum that was added in 2011. In 2019, John Delaney told me in a phone conversation that many policies were to be looked at and updated. That was six years ago.

Another important suggestion we have relayed to the Archdiocese from our community is that the link to the Standards should be posted to all parish and school websites. It also could be linked to all emails communications from the parish and schools. The link could be posted in church bulletins. Very easy to advertise the Standards throughout the Archdiocese. If someone has not taken the Safety Environment training, they have no knowledge of the Standards. There are many members of our parish communities who have not taken the training because they are not volunteers or employees. They have no idea that inappropriate behavior exhibited by church personnel could be a violation of the Standards and needs to be reported. Also those who have taken the training only learn of the Standards in that one time session. Decades later have completely forgotten.

.Many of the Standards involve rules that would take place in a spiritual counseling sessions with adults. An abuse survivor who was sexually violated by a Philly priest as an adult asked that a copy of the Standards be given to every lay person before they begin spiritual counseling. She now recognizes that many of the Standards that the priest violated were included in the grooming behavior that began prior to the sexual abuse. She had no idea that the Standards even existed. The knowledge could have saved her from the sexual abuse

The children in the Archdiocese should be taught the Standards in their Safety Environment yearly classes. This is very basic things such as no adults at the school or parish are allowed to communicate on social media with kids. The kids, who would be the victims of a violation of the Standards by church personnel, have no idea that the Standards even exist. So if a coach, teacher, or priest should violate the rules, and friend, follow, or send messages through social media, the students have no idea that this needs to be reported. They are only taught general safety; that adults should not communicate with kids on social media. They have no idea that it if the adult is church personnel the actual violation that needs to be reported.

Who should the students report this to? They should report to their parents who can then report the violation to the Archdiocese. The parents should also report the violation to Child Line. We have reported grooming behavior to Child Line, not just abuse allegations. Leave an electronic trail. Communicate with the Archdiocese in email.

Speaking of parents, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia does not inform parents when their child has been a victim of a violation of the Standards. I know this first hand when they simply allowed a priest to delete minors from his Facebook page without informing the parents of the violation to their child. No parental notification policy exists. We have advocated for this since 2017.

To recap:

-The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia begins with a with a legal disclaimer

-Many children and laity who would be the victims of a violation of the Standards have no knowledge that the Standards even exist.

-There is no parental notification policy if a minor/student is the victim of a violation of the Standards.

It has been over a decade since we have communicated these surface level concerns to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia The safety issues go much deeper. Does policy prevent predatory behavior? No. Better policy catches predatory behavior. Why not catch more people before abuse begins? Because it’s a bad look for the Archdiocese if people with predatory behavior are exposed. This is all about protecting the Archdiocese and not the children and laity. It’s how it works.

In our latest attempt to improve child and laity protection we will be communicating with the Trust and Hope Team of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I have been in contact with Brian McCarthy and Dan Cellucci explaining to them why people no longer trust, nor hope. Much must change for child protection before inviting families and youth back to the church in Philadelphia. Someone will be harmed under current conditions. It will happen. Our next post will highlight who is at risk in the Trust and Hope’s effort for families and youth to return .

This is the first of many posts that will highlight the safety issues in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.