The data is in and the key take-aways, I believe, are surprising: the Survivor Insights Survey results will be published soon.
For once, COVID 19 has actually provided some benefits. Because work and life have come to screeching halts for many professionals, I have expanded access to my expert on the visual representation of data, statistician, data analyst, and numerous scholars on the Catholic Clergy abuse crisis.
Thank you to the National Catholic Reporter for helping me spread the word.
Friends and colleagues: I am compiling data for a research project that is going to do a deep-dive into insights about the survivor community.
The first phase is a five-minute survey for SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. You need not be abused by a priest – I am looking for survivors of deacons, nuns, teachers, employees, volunteers … any abuser who was protected by the institutional structure of the Catholic Church.
The survey is anonymous (even if you have not yet disclosed or come forward, you can still participate). It is short (takes less than five minutes to complete). It does not ask about the details of the abuse. It does not ask any questions that may jeopardize a current or planned lawsuit. The survey is comprised of opinion and objective questions. There are no “triggering” questions.
I am compiling a body of data that I will be publishing in White Papers/ebook format. I believe that the survivors’ community is poorly understood—and that well-meaning academics, journalists, and advocates operate under a series of assumptions that may or may not be accurate.
This is the first survey in a series. Other surveys will have more specific and thematic targets and will include broader audiences (Boy Scout survivors, familial abuse survivors, etc.).
Follow this link. I will not know who you are and the anonymity of participants is protected.
The more we (survivors, the media, the public) know about the survivors community, the more we can provide help and support. In addition, I believe that the results can help in the broader child safety movement.
If you are not a survivor of abuse and would like to review the questions before recommending the survey to survivors, please email me at jcasteix (at) gmail (dot) com.
CA AB 218 is now law. Victims of child sexual abuse—no matter how old they are or when the abuse occurred (public or private institutions are both included, as well as victims in the family)—can come forward in the courts and expose what happened.
For those of us from Mater Dei, the All-American Boys Chorus, and the Diocese of Orange, it’s a time for thought and action.
Coming forward and exposing the crime does not “hurt” these institutions – these institutions knew about our abuse and covered it up. Talking about your abuse does not shame you or your family. It’s the first step in healing. Even if some of your best memories were of high school, choir, or church, that doesn’t mean that these places get a “pass.” Here is why:
You did not ask to be abused. You did nothing wrong. No child ever deserves to be sexually assaulted by a teacher, priest, coach, parent, relative, or volunteer.
Mater Dei, the AABC and the Diocese of Orange deliberately covered-up abuse. They knew who the predators were and they did nothing to keep them away from us, the kids. In fact, they kept us and our parents in the dark. They lied to us when we came forward to disclose and made us think we were the only ones. When our lives went south, they were not there to provide support. In many cases, we were blamed for the abuse.
And finally, has anything changed? We simply don’t know. Why? Because they won’t tell us and they have no accountability unless survivors stand up and demand it. We don’t know if kids are safe. We don’t know what the secrets are.
If you are ready, it’s time for the secrets to end. It’s time for the shame to stop.
If you have questions or want to talk about options, please contact me. I can help.
It was a throwaway quote by Orange Bishop Kevin Vann that gave him away.
Yesterday, six dioceses across the state of California launched what they are calling the Independent Compensation Program (ICP) for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests.
The programs, modeled after similar programs in New York and elsewhere, aim to quickly compensate some victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church before further civil rights are opened up to them by state legislatures, as happened in New York and New Jersey.
I go into more detail here about California’s plan and why survivors should WAIT and think VERY CAREFULLY about engaging.
In his letter to parishioners explaining the program, Orange Bishop Kevin Vann tells us everything we need to know about how he feels about history, reform, victims, transparency, child safety, and civil rights for the abused.
Catholic dioceses have also put in place strict policies and programs to protect people and to create safe environments in parishes, schools and other ministries. Hundreds of thousands of adults throughout the state have been trained in abuse prevention and reporting. Hundreds of thousands more in leadership positions have been fingerprinted and undergone background checks. Dioceses have implemented strict reporting requirements, working closely with local law enforcement officials to immediately report abuse allegations and remove accused perpetrators from ministry. The Diocese of Orange was one of the first Dioceses to put all of these in place. (emphasis mine)
Why, pray tell, was the Diocese of Orange the first to put these into place? Was is goodwill? Christian charity? A willingness to live like Jesus?
Nah. It was a sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit. They were FORCED TO AS TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT.
Even though the Diocese of Orange and Archdiocese of Los Angeles (at the time of the settlement) refused to acknowledge that Fr. Michael Harris was a serial perpetrator (even calling his actions “sins” instead of “crimes”), they, according to the Los Angeles Times, implemented:
[eleven] changes to church procedures provided for in the settlement–which Ryan DiMaria’s attorney dubbed “Ryan’s Law”–include monitoring of schools and parishes, establishing a toll-free phone number and Web site for anonymous abuse complaints and forbidding priests to be alone in social settings with minors. Some of the rules are new, others reinforce existing regulations.
Really? And Kevin Vann is now crowing about being a pioneer? Maybe he should reserve his time to going through priest, volunteer, and employee perpetrator files and making them public and turning everything over to law enforcement.
But pretending that Orange is a leader in reforms is a sham. What Vann should have said is this:
“We were a leader in getting busted for covering up child sex abuse. Victims and the courts forced us into changes that we have never really enforced.”
If you had any questions about the integrity of the ICP, this should nail it for you.
Bishop Matano (pictured above) is making this all about the Benjamins. He wants to elicit sympathy from parishioners, make the public think that Child Victims Act will “pull money from soup kitchens,” and scare survivors into silence by portraying them as the bad guys.
But remember: When survivors come forward, it has nothing to do with money. And the crime is NEVER the fault of the child.
The Diocese of Rochester let kids be sexually abused and raped for decades and then covered up the abuse and forced survivors into silence. These lawsuits are about exposing abusers, punishing wrongdoers, and keeping kids safe.
Survivors want truth in civil trials. Bishop Matano declared bankruptcy to make sure that never happens.
Bishop Salvatore Matano shut the courthouse doors for victims, stopped the ugly and embarrassing (for him) civil suits, and is now trying to shift the blame back onto survivors by pitting them against the Diocese of Rochester’s “ministries to the Catholic faithful.”
Don’t be fooled.
According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, there are 59 civil suits pending against the diocese, which spans 12 counties.
But this number is misleading.
A closer look at the complaints shows that there are approximately 100 (yes, one hundred) victims who have come forward to say they were abused in the Diocese of Rochester. A number of the lawsuits filed are what I call “rodeo complaints,” that is, a single complaint lists numerous perpetrators and numerous victims.
We are only one month into the 12-month window, so we can expect the number of cases to triple, at least.
Imagine a car going 100 miles per hour on the inside lane of a four lane highway. There is an exit .00001 miles ahead that says: “Bankruptcy, exit here.”
The car doesn’t *quite* come to a screeching halt, but it makes one, hairy, life-altering swerve that no one in the passenger seats will ever forget. Will the car still get to the final destination? Yes. The route will just be a little different.
The civil proceedings will move over to the federal bankruptcy courts. Further civil action on current cases will stop and instead be determined by the federal courts and new procedural policies will be put in place for new cases filed.
I am not a mind reader, but I would not be surprised if other New York dioceses are watching things in Rochester very closely.