Diocese responds to child-abuse allegations

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, local reporters informed the Diocese of Helena that a press conference had taken place at a Helena motel. The main focus was allegations of child abuse, said to have taken place decades ago mostly at the historic mission school in St. Ignatius, Mont., staffed by the Oregon Province of Jesuits and the Ursuline Sisters, a community of women religious.

The press conference and related materials were replete with inflammatory rhetoric and sweeping allegations presented by plaintiff lawyers with calculated intentions: to try the case in the court of public opinion by a selective misrepresentation of facts; to raise up potential claimants; and to implicate the Diocese of Helena in new litigation. Subsequently, an amended complaint was filed, as well as a second lawsuit.

By way of background, it is important for the reader to note that:

1. The allegations in question took place between 35 and 60 years ago.

2. All the Jesuits defendants listed in this suit are deceased, except for one who is presently in assisted living/nursing care.

3. The amended complaint and the second lawsuit name deceased priests of the Diocese of Helena.

4. The Oregon Province of Jesuits, based in Portland, Ore., has already paid out $166 million to over 500 claimants from its schools and missions, including the majority of the claimants named in this complaint.

To be sure, the cases raise critical and complex legal matters to be addressed preliminarily, including vicarious liability, diocesan responsibility for entirely separate religious organizations, statutes of limitations, and Jesuit bankruptcy issues, among others, all of which will best be addressed by those with legal expertise. In making those determinations, no stone will be left unturned.

In their efforts to stir up public mistrust of the Diocese of Helena, however, the law firms raise pastoral and policy questions which I want to address from the perspective of the Diocese.

The beginning point is uncomplicated: We view child abuse as a grave moral offense, and a crime to be investigated and prosecuted by law enforcement officials.

We heartily ascribe to the words of the late Pope John Paul II, that “there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young.” Period.

For the past decade, the Diocese of Helena has had in place aggressive policies to address and prevent child abuse in our jurisdiction.

We emphasize comprehensive education, screening, criminal background checks, and training for all paid workers and volunteers, and safe environment training for the young. A reporting number and designated victim’s coordinator are designed to protect our children and youth.

A review committee oversees the administration of these policies. Committee members include a deputy county attorney, a former highway patrolman, mental health counselors, a social worker, and parents.

The entire diocesan program is reviewed annually by an independent audit firm. Our most recent audit this September found the Diocese of Helena again in compliance with the Dallas Charter and national safe environment policies.

In taking responsibility for our own diocesan cases, our diocese has paid out over $9 million to victims of child abuse and their lawyers over the past two decades. When I was appointed as bishop here seven years ago, the Diocese of Helena was on the brink of financial insolvency, and remains in recovery mode.

I have personally listened to survivors’ heart-wrenching stories and been saddened by their reports of shattered innocence, broken trust, and the spiritual and psychological toll that abuse takes on innocent victims at the hands of abusive church personnel.

Words cannot adequately express our sorrow or convey the depth of our apology.

On a global scale, the Catholic Church and certain segments of its leadership have been the object of well-deserved scorn and mistrust for the way individual instances of child abuse were mishandled.

While we cannot rewrite history, we can hope that our present-day efforts will prevent future generations from experiencing the same tragedies of yesteryear.

Our prayer is that Christ the Divine Physician will heal the wounds both in church and society that have been visited upon the young through the scourge of child abuse and bring us all to a brighter day.

Thomas is bishop for the Diocese of Helena of the Catholic Church.