Working Group Reports
Protecting Our Children
Jetta Bernier, Member of the Victims' Rights Committee,
to Address Winchester Area VOTF Affiliate Meeting, Monday,
July 26, at 7:30 p.m., St. Eulalia's Church, 50 Ridge
St., Winchester.
Recognized as a child advocate and child abuse prevention
expert with over 25 years in the field, Jetta Bernier
is Executive Director of the Massachusetts Citizens
for Children, a statewide child advocacy organization
and state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America. She
also chairs the MA Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership,
a coalition of 23 private and state organizations working
under a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) grant to develop effective prevention programs.
The Victims' Rights Committee is an independent body
of five advocates for children and mental health professionals
with significant experience and expertise in child sexual
abuse prevention, its treatment and related legal issues.
Formed at the urging of over 150 Massachusetts human
service professionals, its purpose is to provide, at
the formal request of survivors of clergy sexual abuse,
an opportunity for independent review of specific
cases previously investigated and closed by the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Boston (RCAB). The need for
such a review had been urged by Attorney General Thomas
Reilly. When formally asked, the Committee may review
the process used by the RCAB to reach its conclusions
in that specific case. The VR Committee's focus is limited
to the formal policies and procedures used by the RCAB
to conduct its investigation in order to determine whether
those policies and procedures were followed.
The Committee's first review - and the first of its
kind in the country -- evaluated the Archdiocese's handling
of an allegation of sexual abuse against Msgr. Michael
Smith Foster. The review was based on the Church's own
policies in place at the time of the investigation.
Paul Edwards, the alleged victim who was a young teen
at the time, formally requested the review by the Committee.
Jetta's presentation to the Winchester Area VOTF will
detail the results of the investigation, which was published
June 16, 2004 in a 32-page "Report by the Victims' Rights
Committee." The review concluded that the Archdiocese
failed to follow its own policies, those of the US conference
of Catholic Bishops, as well as Church canon law. It
details the RCAB's failure to conduct an objective investigation,
to protect the reputation of Paul Edwards, and to provide
Mr. Edwards with timely information on relevant actions
taken in the case.
For the Victims' Rights Committee's mission statement,
annotated list of members, and "Report of the Victims
Rights Committee," go to the VRC web site: http://www.vrcboston.org.
For directions to St. Eulalia's Church, email Marge
Bean at Margebean@cs.com.
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