ADDENDUM TO ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REGARDING CHILD ABUSE AND HARASSMENT

TO PROMOTE HEALING AND RECONCILIATION WITH VICTIMS/SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE’ OF MINORS AND TO PROTECT THE FAITHFUL IN THE FUTURE #

A. #

The Archdiocese shall maintain a Pastoral Outreach Office. The Pastoral Outreach Coordinator shall report to the Archdiocesan Director of Pastoral Ministry and shall serve as staff to the Independent Review Board (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”), identified below, for purposes of assisting the Board with its responsibility to advise on and audit established and proposed Archdiocesan policies, procedures, and programs designed to prevent and respond to the sexual abuse of minors. The responsibilities of the Pastoral Outreach Coordinator shall include:

1. Facilitate outreach to every person who has been the victim of sexual abuse as a minor by anyone acting in the name of the Church, whether the abuse was recent or occurred many years in the past. The outreach will include arranging the provision of counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups, and other social services agreed upon by the victim and the Archdiocese. In cooperation with social service agencies and other churches, the Coordinator will foster and encourage support groups for victims/survivors and others affected by abuse at the Archdiocesan level and in local Parish communities. The Coordinator shall also foster outreach to victims and to their families by arranging, upon request, for the Archbishop or his representative to meet with them, to listen with patience and compassion to their experiences and concerns, and to share the “profound sense of solidarity and concern” expressed by the Holy Father in his Address to the Cardinals of the United States and Bishops Conference Officers.
   
   Sexual abuse of a minor includes sexual molestation or sexual exploitation of a minor and other behavior by which an adult uses a minor as an object of sexual gratification. Sexual abuse has been defined by different civil authorities in various ways, and these norms do not adopt any particular definition provided in civil law. Rather, the transgressions in question relate to obligations arising from divine commands regarding human sexual interaction as conveyed to us by the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (c. 1395, § 2). Thus, the norm to be considered in assessing an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is whether conduct or interaction with a minor qualifies as an external, objectively grave violation of the sixth commandment (USCCB, Canonical Delicts Involving Sexual Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State, 1995, p. 6). A canonical offense against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (c. 1395, § 2) need not be a complete act of intercourse. Nor, to be objectively grave, does an act need to involve force, physical contact, or a discernible harmful outcome. Moreover, “imputability [moral responsibility] for a canonical offense is presumed upon external violation…unless it is otherwise apparent” (c. 1321, § 3). Cf. cc. 1322-1327. If there is any doubt about whether a specific act fulfills this definition, the writings of recognized moral theologians should be consulted and the opinion of a recognized expert be obtained (Canonical Delicts, p. 6). Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the diocesan bishop/eparch, with the advice of a qualified review board, to determine the gravity of the alleged act.
   
2. Coordinate assistance to Parish communities affected by the sexual misconduct of ordained or lay personnel of the Archdiocese, including Parish intervention teams staffed by personnel experienced in community healing.
   
3. Maintain contact with the Archdiocese of San Francisco Independent Review Board, and the applicable Chancery officials, to ensure that during the course of the Board’s investigation of an abuse claim appropriate spiritual and/or counseling needs are addressed.
   
4. Coordinate the Archdiocese’s “Safe Environment” program, which will involve cooperation with parents, civil authorities, educators, the Archdiocesan Human Resources Office, and community organizations in providing education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, administrators, and others at the Diocesan and Parish/school levels about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children.
   
5. Maintain contact with the Archdiocesan Human Resources Office, Department of Catholic Schools, Department of Pastoral Ministry, Seminary, and Catholic Charities/Catholic Youth Organization, as applicable, to assure that the policies regarding fingerprinting and background checks of personnel regularly involved with children, and adequate screening and evaluative techniques