INSTRUMENTS OF HOPE AND HEALING
Eleven Years of Work and Reflection by United States Male Religious on the Tragedy of Sexual Abuse within the Catholic Church
The Work So Far
In August 2002, the leaders of the men’s religious institutes of the United States met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attempting to respond to the strong outcry over the sudden public awareness of the abuse of minors by priests and religious. The Bishops had already met in June of that year to forge a common approach to this tragedy for the whole Catholic Church in the United States and all its ministries. The leaders of the men’s religious institutes felt a need to articulate clear responses and commit their institutes to more transparent internal operations and policies in regard to the tragedy of sexual abuse of minors. These policies were understood to include the pastoral care of victims, increased screening of new candidates, formation of new educational programs for all members, development of effective methods of supervision for members who had abused minors, and authentic methods of transparency for a public whose trust had been lost by revelations of abuse in the course of that year. The institutes of Religious Brothers, though not covered by the policies and procedures of the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People because they are not clerics, joined with the religious clerics of the leadership conference to develop a common program – Instruments of Hope and Healing – and to be bound by it.
