YOUNGSTOWN Diocese revising its policy on abuse

The diocese's policy notes that state law requires professionals to report even suspicions of child abuse to authorities.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown has long sought to protect children from abuse.
"We do have a [protective] policy in place," said Nancy Yuhasz, the diocesan chancellor. "It's very comprehensive."
Still, the diocese's policy will probably be updated soon to reflect a new state law that defines a volunteer. When that change is made, said Yuhasz, the diocese will print 6,000 or 7,000 copies of the policy for its priests, teachers, other workers and volunteers.
Complaints are, in fact, to be made to Yuhasz, who said she knows of no recent allegations of abuse against diocesan priests or other workers.
In the United States, some Catholic jurisdictions, such as the Archdiocese of Boston, have been rocked by lawsuits and criminal charges over unreported abuse.
Boston link: Youngstown's connection to Boston has been revived in recent news accounts and on several Web sites. A former Youngstown priest, Robert M. Burns, was removed from his assignment in Girard in 1981 over abuse allegations.
He eventually transferred to Boston, although Youngstown's then-bishop, James W. Malone, warned a church leader there to keep Burns away from boys. Burns was later defrocked and was sentenced to prison in New Hampshire for molesting a boy.
According to Yuhasz, the people involved in that case are no longer involved in the diocese. Malone died in 2000. A lawsuit filed by an alleged victim of Burns' from Boston against the archdiocese and the diocese of Youngstown was settled in 1999. Yuhasz said she had no knowledge of the suit.
The diocesan policy was enacted in 1994 by Bishop Malone to replace an in-house policy. It was amended in 1999 to consolidate reporting under the chancellor's office.
It's named the "Child Protection Policy" since much of it is aimed at helping the victim, Yuhasz noted.
Biblical references: The cover of the policy booklet quotes Matthew 18:1: "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
A letter in the booklet from Bishop Thomas J. Tobin recounts how Jesus, in response to that question, placed a child among the disciples.
The letter quotes Matthew 18:6, where Jesus said, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Still, the policy's subsequent introduction notes that the healing of the Gospel must be assured to both the victim and abuser.
The diocese has a screening policy under which new employees must fill out a background questionnaire and acknowledge they understand the policy.
Employees who directly work with children are also fingerprinted. The fingerprints are sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for state and federal background checks.
The booklet notes that state law requires people acting in an official or professional capability to report suspected or actual abuse to local children's services agency or police. Failure to do so can be a misdemeanor.
What's in policy: Under the policy, workers are also required to report any suspected or actual abuse to Yuhasz. Priests, as well as ministers and rabbis, are exempted from reporting abuse if they learn of it through confession, according to the Ohio attorney general's office.
The policy also allows for an investigation by Bishop Tobin or his appointed investigator, who gives parents a copy of the policy, advise them of their right to pursue criminal charges or a lawsuit, and their right to get a lawyer.
In case of an unsubstantiated allegation, a copy of the investigative report is to be kept in a confidential file for 10 years, and then destroyed, although a summary of the case will be kept. In case of a substantiated charge, the accused will be immediately placed on leave. That step is optional when a complaint is first made. In substantiated cases, priests or deacons who are accused will undergo a psychological assessment.
The policy creates a response team for victims in substantiated cases that includes the chancellor, a social worker, a psychiatrist, a lawyer other than diocesan counsel, and someone with knowledge of the circumstances of the case, such as a principal in a case of abuse of a pupil.