VOTF National News

VOTF president Jim Post on the future of the National Review Board – Keeping our Voice

As the calendar moves toward November, preparations are being made for the next gathering of bishops at the USCCB meeting in Washington, DC. This meeting promises to be momentous in at least one respect: A changing of the guard among members of the National Review Board.

The NRB is one of the best responses from the bishops to the clergy sexual abuse scandal. They wisely drew on the talents of the laity – women and men – to shape a mechanism that would ensure the accountability of procedures established under the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Through turbulent times, the NRB members were steadfast in their commitment. The public leadership of Governor Frank Keating, the first chair, and Judge Anne Burke, who succeeded him as interim chair, provoked some criticism, but earned much respect from bishops, clergy, and laity. Judge Burke, in particular, has been both candid and passionate in her efforts to preserve the board’s public credibility. The visible roles played by Robert Bennett and William Burleigh served the board and the Church well during the past two years. Every member of the board has earned the respect of Catholics through their dedicated service.

Now, the board is changing. A number of the most visible members are stepping down as planned, and new members will be named to continue the work. We are hopeful that equally gifted women and men will succeed those who are leaving the Board.

Judge Burke emphasized that the NRB and Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse recommended a slate of 9 nominees that included no vowed religious (priests, brothers, sisters). It is important that our bishops understand the importance of a “lay” review board. They chose to name it; they chose to grant it authority; and they have used its work to legitimize their actions in response to the crisis. The bishops must understand that to compromise the meaning of “lay” review board, even on a technicality, is to compromise some of the integrity that body has earned. That risks the most elusive of assets in the current environment – trust.

As the bishops’ prepare to gather, please share your perspective on this matter by letter or other means. The appointment of new members to the NRB is a critical step in the process of repairing and rebuilding trust and confidence in the Church. It should be done the right way.

Excerpts from the NRB charge as called for by the USCCB

To Ensure the Accountability of Our Procedures

ARTICLE 8. To assist in the consistent application of these principles and to provide a vehicle of accountability and assistance to dioceses/eparchies in this matter, we authorize the establishment of an Office for Child and Youth Protection at our national headquarters. The tasks of this Office will include (1) assisting individual dioceses/eparchies in the implementation of "safe environment" programs (see Article 12 below), (2) assisting provinces and regions in the development of appropriate mechanisms to audit adherence to policies, and (3) producing an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards in this Charter. This public report shall include the names of those dioceses/eparchies which, in the judgment of this Office, are not in compliance with the provisions and expectations of this Charter. This Office will have staffing sufficient to fulfill its basic purpose. Staff will consist of persons who are expert in the protection of minors; they will be appointed by the General Secretary of the Conference.

ARTICLE 9. The work of the Office for Child and Youth Protection will be assisted and monitored by a Review Board, including parents, appointed by the Conference President and reporting directly to him. The Board will approve the annual report of the implementation of this Charter in each of our dioceses/eparchies, as well as any recommendations that emerge from this review, before the report is submitted to the President of the Conference and published. To understand the problem more fully and to enhance the effectiveness of our future response, the National Review Board will commission a comprehensive study of the causes and context of the current crisis. The Board will also commission a descriptive study, with the full cooperation of our dioceses/eparchies, of the nature and scope of the problem within the Catholic Church in the United States, including such data as statistics on perpetrators and victims.

ARTICLE 10. The membership of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse will be reconstituted to include representation from all the episcopal regions of the country.

ARTICLE 11. The President of the Conference will inform the Holy See of this Charter to indicate the manner in which we, the Catholic bishops, together with the entire Church in the United States, intend to address this present crisis.

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