Accountability
A Letter to the People of God of Western North Carolina
Dear Friends in Christ,
With great sorrow yet abiding hope, the Diocese of Charlotte publishes this list of 14 clergy who have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse within the diocese since it was established in 1972.
It is painful to even try to comprehend such gravely immoral behavior, particularly for those who have carried the burden of sexual abuse by clergy. However, in speaking with survivors and hearing their stories, it is clear to me that making known the names of their abusers can promote healing for them and their families. I pray this step achieves that goal.
This list is the culmination of a process begun more than a year ago in our belief that a full accounting of of credibly accused clergy would provide validation for victims and demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accountability. While most of the names on the list were made known years ago by the diocese and others, to ensure this accounting was comprehensive, the diocese engaged independent investigators to review some 1,600 personnel and other historical records dating back almost 50 years.
To all who have been victimized by Catholic clergy, I apologize on behalf of the diocese and express to you personally my heartfelt sorrow for the physical, emotional and spiritual pain you have suffered. You deserved a priest in whom you could place your trust, a model of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Regrettably, it is clear in our history that the Catholic Church – including this diocese – did not fully understand the pathology of child sexual abuse or respond to allegations as aggressively as it could have, as we do today.
While nothing can change the past, in our sorrow we also find hope. The information we present here reflects a clear shift in the way the Church – and this diocese – has addressed the problem of child sexual abuse since 2002, when the U.S. Catholic Bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The Charter mandates zero tolerance, strict accountability standards, and protocols for reporting allegations and preventing abuse in all of our parishes, schools and ministries. Since I became bishop in 2003, I have been fortunate to have the Charter as our guide on this issue.
Please be assured, our file review confirmed that no clergy member serving in our diocese today has a credible allegation of child sexual abuse against him. These men deserve our prayers and our support, for they have endured the long shadow cast by the immoral acts of a few in the past.
Also be assured that all of the accused clergy named on this list have long since been removed from ministry – and most are now deceased. Under the Charter, anyone credibly accused must be removed from ministry until a determination of guilt or innocence is made through government or Church proceedings.
It is also our practice to report all allegations of child sexual abuse to civil authorities for action, independent of our Church adjudication process. We continue to urge people to contact law enforcement directly if they have been victimized. And we are launching an independent hotline to make it easier for people to report suspected cases of sexual abuse or misconduct to us for investigation and Church disciplinary purposes.
I am grateful for the courage and strength of abuse survivors who have shared their most private pain so those responsible could be held accountable and children today can be protected from harm. I pray the information we are sharing will provide some measure of healing and restoration of trust – for victims and for our many brothers and sisters in Christ whose confidence in the Church hierarchy has been shaken and who have felt betrayed by the way some Church leaders handled abuse allegations in the past.
Unfortunately, no list of this nature can be considered a final accounting. It is a document to which new names might be added. This list reflects credible allegations we have documented now, and it will be updated as new information emerges – and as additional survivors, perhaps prompted by this list, come forward.
I invite you to read more inside about the information being released. Please pray with me that this information achieves the goal of bringing healing to victims. I also ask that you please pray for the Church, and for the Lord to call good and holy priests to serve the People of God in our growing diocese. With the Lord’s help, we can continue fostering a safe and supportive environment in our parishes, schools and ministries so that the Church in western North Carolina can help lead future generations to Him.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, J.C.D.
Bishop of Charlotte
More information online
Read more about the Diocese of Charlotte’s accountability report online at accountability.charlottediocese.org.
Read the full press release.
Related story:
Charlotte diocese publishes list of 14 clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse
-
Charlotte diocese publishes list of 14 clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse
CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte published a list Dec. 30 of 14 clergy who have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse within the diocese since it was established in 1972.The list is the result of a year-long process that included a comprehensive, independent review of more than 1,600 files dating back almost 50 years to ensure a full accounting of credibly accused clergy in the diocese’s history.
The file review confirmed that no clergy member serving in the Charlotte diocese today has a credible allegation of sexual abuse against him. Records also show that all clergy named on the list were long ago removed from ministry or deceased – and that most names were made known years ago by the diocese and others.
Reflecting national trends, records show instances of abuse alleged in the Charlotte diocese peaked in the 1970s and dropped sharply after 2002 when new protections were put in place by the U.S. Catholic Church.
“It is painful to even try to comprehend such gravely immoral behavior,” Bishop Peter J. Jugis wrote in a letter published Monday along with the list and other abuse information. “However, in speaking with survivors and hearing their stories, it is clear to me that making known the names of their abusers can promote healing for them and their families.”
“This list is the culmination of a process begun more than a year ago in our belief that a full accounting of credible abuse allegations would provide validation for victims and demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accountability,” wrote Bishop Jugis, who on Sunday offered a special Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte to pray for sexual abuse survivors.He announced the conclusion of the file review and prayed for sexual abuse survivors during his homily at Mass Dec. 29 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
In addition to its own list, the Charlotte diocese published information about accused clergy who served in western North Carolina before the Charlotte diocese was established in 1972, when the Diocese of Raleigh oversaw the Catholic Church across the state. Also identified were clergy who served without documented incident in the Charlotte diocese but were accused elsewhere on lists published by other dioceses and religious orders.
The information was presented on the diocese’s new webpage, accountability.charlottediocese.org, which also features resources including a new hotline for reporting sexual abuse operated independently by Red Flag Reporting. The hotline allows people to speak up, anonymously or not, when suspected sexual abuse or other misconduct is noted.
The accountability webpage is the latest in a series of steps the diocese has taken to prevent child sexual abuse since 2002, when the U.S. bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The Charter mandates a zero-tolerance policy, strict screening and training standards, and protocols for preventing abuse in all U.S. Catholic churches, facilities and programs.
Since 2002, one credible case of abuse is alleged to have occurred within the Charlotte diocese. While civil authorities chose not to prosecute in that case, the diocese removed the priest from ministry. Four other cases of alleged abuse handled before the Charter took effect in 2002 were surfaced from the file review.
In the fall of 2018, the diocese set in motion a multi-layered process to publish the names of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. The diocese automatically placed on its list clergy who had admitted to allegations or were charged by law enforcement with offenses related to child sexual abuse. In addition, the diocese placed on the list all clergy who were determined by its Lay Review Board to have been credibly accused.
To ensure historical allegations were identified in the diocese’s files, the independent investigators reviewed 1,600 personnel files of priests, deacons and religious brothers, as well as other archives, for any indication of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.
Their review took more than 1,000 hours and encompassed 150,000 pages of documents.
“As with most organizations, very little attention had been paid to our personnel files going back almost 50 years, but we knew it was important to explore their contents and make relevant information known,” said Father Patrick J. Winslow, the diocese’s former promoter of justice who oversaw the file review as the diocese’s newly appointed vicar general and chancellor. “Today, we sincerely hope our efforts will provide some validation for abuse survivors and promote a culture that allows people who may be suffering in silence to come forward and seek help.”
The Charlotte diocese has embraced – and built upon – the Charter protocols. Protections include:
• Immediate required reporting of all abuse allegations to civil authorities.
• Required background checks and Safe Environment training for all personnel and volunteers.
• An independent Lay Review Board to investigate and determine credibility of abuse allegations.
• A rigorous code of conduct that prohibits Church personnel and volunteers from being alone with children, except in rare circumstances that involve parental oversight.
• A local college seminary, founded in 206, to promote local vocations, reduce reliance on outside clergy and more closely guide the formation of its future priests.During an interview with the Catholic News Herald Dec. 30, Father Winslow addressed the findings of the study and how the diocese measured up in adhering to the protocols.
“What we wanted to do is to go back and to look and to see how things were handled in the past and to make that information available because we thought it was important for the healing and the wellbeing of the victims. And also to reassure the faithful that since the past 20 years, our protocols have been working,” he said.
Father Winslow confirmed that the list and also the new accountability website will be updated should more credible allegations emerge.
“The website will be evolving as new information comes in,” he explained. “Sometimes it is the case when people, particularly victims, over the course of time begin to think about what is important for them and they come forward. Should new allegations come in, we will update this list.”
In his letter dated Dec. 30, Bishop Jugis asked the faithful to “Please pray with me that this information achieves the goal of bringing justice and healing to victims. With the Lord’s help, we can continue fostering a safe and supportive environment in our parishes, schools and ministries so that the Church in western North Carolina can help lead future generations to Him.”
More information online
Read more about the Diocese of Charlotte’s accountability report online at accountability.charlottediocese.org.
Read the full press release.
Related story:
New hotline abuse and misconduct launched
-
New hotline for reporting of sexual abuse and misconduct launched
CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte has launched a new independent hotline for the reporting of sexual abuse and misconduct.
The diocese has contracted with Red Flag Reporting, an industry-leading ethics reporting provider based in Akron, Ohio, to enable people to speak up, anonymously or not, when unethical activity is noted.
Key features of the independent and secure hotline include:- A toll-free phone number with live operators 24/7/365 who have the ability to field calls in more than 200 languages
- An easy-to-use web reporting portal in more than 50 languages
- Direct but anonymous communications between people reporting abuse and investigators
- An ongoing ability for investigators to share documents and track multiple issues within one report
- An auditable trail of information and trending data that enables Church leaders to verify compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
- For the person reporting abuse, automatic identification of who the report will be routed to
The diocese continues to encourage anyone who suspects abuse or misconduct to contact local law enforcement first.
The diocese also notifies civil authorities immediately upon receiving any allegations of sexual abuse – past or present.
This independent, secure and confidential hotline adds another level of protection and public assur-ance to the robust child protection measures the diocese has already had in place for decades, so that the Church in western North Carolina is a safe and sacred environment for all of God’s children.How to report an allegation of abuse
If you have information about possible sexual abuse or misconduct by any clergy, employee or volunteer of the Diocese of Charlotte, report concerns safely, securely and anonymously 24/7 over the phone or online:
ONLINE:
www.RedFlagReporting.com/RCDOCPHONE:
1-888-630-5929 (toll-free)You may also use the following (be sure to be detail oriented, specify this is regarding the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, and indicate if you wish to remain anonymous or not):
FAX: 1-330-572-8146
EMAIL: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MAIL: RFR, P.O. Box 4230, Akron, Ohio 44321PLEASE NOTE: The Diocese of Charlotte reports all allegations of sexual abuse of a minor to law enforcement. The diocese also notifies its Victim Assistance Coordinator, a licensed counselor who offers assistance to the reporting individual, as well as its Lay Review Board, an independent advisory group that investigates allegations of abuse for Church disciplinary purposes.
If you know or suspect that a minor (person under 18) is or has been abused, please contact 9-1-1 if it is an emergency, or your local law enforcement or Department of Social Services if it is a non-emergency.More information online
Read more about the Diocese of Charlotte’s accountability report online at accountability.charlottediocese.org.
Read the full press release.
