Restoring Trust: Response to Sexual Abuse of Minors

The scandalous news of the sex abuse crisis in the United States' Catholic Church made national headlines (first through the Boston Globe) and started to be addressed, in earnest, after the Summer of 2002, by all the bishops and dioceses of the United States, as set forth and agreed upon in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Dallas Charter) (June, 2002) and the Revised Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons approved in November, 2002. New offices and review boards needed to be created, policies written, victims needed to reached out to and cared for anew, cases may have required review, and any abusers in ministry needed to be removed. Lay Catholics, good priests, and most of the hierarchy were dumfounded by nature and scope of what they were learning about the terrible sins of a small percentage of the clergy. Trust needed to be restored! 

• On August 1, 2002, Bishop William Bullock (3rd Bishop of Madison) named the founding members of the Diocese of Madison’s Sexual Abuse Review Board (SARB), including: the Honorable Roland B. Day, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice; a priest; an attorney; a psychiatrist; a therapist and head of a sexual abuse taskforce, and a former police officer. The declared purpose and function of this board was both to review diocesan sexual abuse policies and to examine any cases of sexual abuse of children or minors by priests, deacons, and Church personnel in the Diocese of Madison. In the Diocese of Madison, the board is empowered to be independent of the bishop in making its recommendations or course of action to be taken on revisions of our existing policy and to examine allegations that come to our attention. 

• In February of 2003, Bishop Bullock publicly named those with past “substantial”/credible allegations against them (they were at the time listed as: L. Trainor, M. Trainor, C. Alvarez and A. Adams, with an outstanding allegation against K. Klubertanz). The complete list of priests with credible accusations, of abuse of a minor, is maintained on the diocesan website. 

• Beginning with the election of Bishop Robert Morlino as the 4th Bishop of Madison, in August, 2003, the Diocese of Madison wrote, promulgated, and implemented (and has since updated) the diocesan policy dealing with sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult, sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment (linked here in English and Spanish). The procedures and response to an allegation of abuse of a minor are thoroughly outlined in pages 20-27 of these diocesan policies. The more-simplified flowchart of the diocesan process and needed communications is posted on the diocesan website and linked here. 

• The diocese has performed background checks and Virtus training of over 33,000 priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, seminarians, lay employees and volunteers of the Diocese of Madison and parishes. (www.madisondiocese.org/virtus) 

• Implemented the Safe Environment children’s program in our schools and religious education programs and have trained almost 13,000 young people to recognize the need for maintaining a safe environment in their personal lives. (www.madisondiocese.org/childrens-program)  

• Bishop Morlino and Bishop Hying have personally met with any and all victims who desired to meet with them. The Chancellor or other diocesan Safe Environment staff have met with every alleged victim willing to meet with a church official regarding their experiences. At the bishop’s insistence, every person coming forward has been treated with respect and every allegation has been investigated to the fullest extent possible. 

• At the bishop’s insistence, counseling has been offered at the diocesan expense, to any person coming forward and identifying themselves as a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, deacon, seminarian, employee, or volunteer of the Diocese of Madison. 

• The Bishop of Madison and his staff and cooperate with annual audits of its compliance with the Dallas Charter and the Essential Norms. Diocesan personnel have been asked to produce evidence to investigators, often with extensive law enforcement backgrounds, and has been found in compliance every year. 

• Just days before his death in November, 2018, Bishop Morlino announced an increase in vigilance and action in the diocese, calling for a complete file review. The diocese underwent that complete clergy file review by Defenbaugh & Associates, an independent security and investigations firm headed by former FBI agents, in 2019. At that time, the diocese offered the rationale for such a review as follows: “Through rereleasing names of known past offenders, and adding to that list any names of those previously found by the diocesan Sexual Abuse Review Board to be credibly accused, and conducting a thorough investigation and review of any additional names, the diocese hopes to continue to build trust, to provide healing wherever possible, and to reassure the faithful of the Diocese of Madison that such matters have been and will continue to be dealt with appropriately.” (File Review Press Release / File Review FAQ) 

• The bishop and his office have maintained transparent communication with regard to sexual abuse. Every priest with credible accusations against him was made public to the media and online (www.madisondiocese.org/abuse), and frequent updates have been offered to the public regarding every case. The diocese pledges to maintain the bishop's directives in this and all other matters. 

• The diocese has never rested on past laurels or ever counted itself lucky to have relatively few cases – when even one victim is one victim too many. We have remained vigilant and increasingly urged all victims of abuse to bring their allegation to law enforcement officials and, if applicable, to Church officials as well. To that end, multiple times a year (no fewer than two, usually at the beginning of the academic year and in early Spring) the diocese runs a paid advertisement in the diocesan newspaper The Catholic Herald asking anyone with any allegation of sexual misconduct should be brought to the attention of law enforcement officials. If allegations involve priests, deacons, or other Church personnel, regardless of when they are said to have occurred, they should also be reported to the Diocese of Madison, by way of the Sexual Misconduct Question and Reporting Line, 608-821-3162. This same language is used at the conclusion of every press release or official communication regarding sexual abuse. 

Heavenly Father,
In every age, you have been our refuge.
Yet again and still, we stand before you
asking for your protection on your holy Church.
For the victims of abuse and their families,
pour out your healing and your peace...(More)

• Sexual Abuse Report Form (Sexual Abuse by Clergy, Church Employee, or Volunteers)--ENGLISH
• Sexual Abuse Report Form (Sexual Abuse by Clergy, Church Employee, or Volunteers)--SPANISH
• Suffered sexual abuse by a bishop? Report it now.

Diocesan Flowchart of How a Case is Processed and Communicated

As always, any allegation of sexual misconduct should be brought to the attention of law enforcement officials. If allegations involve priests, deacons, or other Church personnel, regardless of when they are said to have occurred, they should also be reported to the Diocese of Madison, by way of the Sexual Misconduct Question and Reporting Line, 608-821-3162. The diocesan policies regarding sexual abuse allegations, and instructions for making a report of sexual misconduct, are available on the diocesan website: madisondiocese.org/safe-environment.