Bishop supports charter to protect youth

The approval of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and the enforcing norms at last week's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas is a positive step in efforts to restore trust and credibility with Catholics, said Bp. Robert Banks at a June 20 press conference.

"I voted in favor of the Charter because I believe it will help church leadership, including myself, to acknowledge that we made mistakes in the past, to take responsibility for improving the situation in the future, to create better protection for our children and to foster a healing process for those that have been hurt by such abuse," he said.

The Charter calls for the removal from ministry any priest who has sexually abused a minor -- past, present and future -- and it will be implemented in the Diocese of Green Bay, he said.

Bp. Banks supported the strength of the Charter's refusal to allow one-time past offenders the opportunity to continue serving. "Some priests who have really made a tremendous turnaround in their lives after an incident years ago will be hurt and it's sad to see that, but I think it is necessary to assure our people that children will be protected from sexual abuse," he said.

Bp. Banks will appoint an Independent Review Board in the Diocese of Green Bay to help execute the sexual abuse policy. The board, to be made up of mostly lay persons not employed by the diocese, will include seven members who will serve five-year terms. The board is expected to be named by the end of June.

"Duties will be to look at our present policies, to look at the recommendations of the (Record Review) Task Force, to come up with any changes that should be made in our policies and also to help me make difficult decisions when it is not exactly clear what to do about an allegation," said Bp. Banks.

A national office is also being set up to make sure bishops are implementing the policies.

Two allegations against priests serving in the Diocese of Green Bay are currently under review to determine credibility, said Bp. Banks.

"Credible is not the same as proven," he said. "A credible allegation comes from a lawyer, has a written, detailed description of what happened and is signed by the accuser. It all sounds like it could have happened."

On June 19, Bp. Banks met with a large number of priests to discuss the meeting in Dallas, their role in educating the people of the parishes about the policy, and to address their questions regarding sexual abuse.

"The priests basically agree with the bishops that we have to put this problem behind us," said Bp. Banks. "I urged them to explain what was happening. The people are served better when they hear the message from the priests they know in their parish than in some report from the diocesan office."

The priests shared concerns about fair treatment when allegations are made, he added. Restoring a priest's name and reputation when falsely accused was a point of discussion.

"If it turns out that an allegation is false I will go with the priest to the parish where he was assigned and I will explain in detail everything that happened and why he is restored to priestly ministry," said Bp. Banks.

The people of the diocese of Green Bay have remained supportive during this difficult time, he added.

"There might be some individuals who have changed as far as their attitudes towards priests," he said. "Overall the support has been steady and heartfelt. Our priests feel the support of their people. I have received many cards and letters of support. Our average gift for the Bishop's Appeal is 10% higher than last year and we will be collecting more than we did last year. It is still important to explain to a lot of our people that the money they give to the church is used to operate the church. It is not used to take care of claims against priests."