“We want to see how far we have come to understand what this is and how we, as a Church are addressing it,” Bishop Gerald Barnes said in his opening remarks on Jan. 17. “We are at a different and better place in dealing with this.”
The all-day workshop, dubbed “Keep Calm, Charter On,” was facilitated by Deacon Bernie Najadera, the executive director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A theme of Dcn. Najadera’s remarks was how the U.S. Church has evolved from an object of disdain in the wake of the scandal to a model for other organizations on how to confront the issue of child sexual abuse.
“The world is looking at our Charter,” he said, referring to the groundbreaking Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that was approved by the U.S. Bishops in 2002. “This is an opportunity for us to evangelize, to be change agents.”
Dcn. Najadera traced the history of the U.S. Bishops’ response to the abuse crisis, beginning with a national conference in 1985 and culminating with the Charter, the establishment of Essential Norms for allegations of sexual abuse of minors and a statement of Episcopal Commitment in 2002. In the 10 years since, 5.2 million children in Catholic communities nationwide have received safe environment training and more than 2.4 million people have been background checked. In the past year, alone, the Diocese of San Bernardino has provided Safe Environment training to over 50,000 children and teens and more than 31,000 adults, and conducted background checks of clergy, lay employees and volunteers. The diocese was audited by the USCCB in October and found to be in compliance with the Charter.
The workshop also gave ministers a chance to hear directly from youth, themselves, about the issue. Two junior high students from Our Lady of the Assumption School in San Bernardino and two students from Aquinas High School talked about their experience of the safe environment training and fielded questions from Dcn. Najadera. All said they have been taught to report something that doesn’t seem right to a “safe adult.”
“I’ve learned that you can’t always take problems head-on yourself,” Aquinas student Ismael Cordova. “You need to let other people help you.”
Most who attended the workshop were likely aware of the elements of the diocese’s policy on the issue of sexual abuse due to mandatory trainings and fingerprinting. Still, some said they appreciated the broader view provided by the presentation.
“It’s a good reminder for us,” said Mary Anne Multer, a youth minister at St. Matthew parish in Corona. “The importance of why we’re doing it.”