Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated an April 23 Mass as part of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s observance of April as National Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month.
Cardinal Gregory lamented that “too many people carry the burden in their hearts and too many families have been crushed” by child abuse or sexual assault, and he stressed the “need to create a safe environment for everyone – children, young people, people who are vulnerable.”
The cardinal celebrated the Mass in the St. Ursula Chapel of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland. Concelebrants of the Mass included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Roy E. Campbell Jr. and Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia, who is also archdiocesan Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, and about six other priests.
Referring to Gospel reading in which Jesus likens Himself to a shepherd whose “sheep listen to my voice … no one will snatch them out of my hand,” Cardinal Gregory promised that “the Good Shepherd looks out for those sheep who have been hurt.”
“Christ’s love for us as our Shepherd singles us out when we are hurt, and He will leave the 99 to come after us,” the cardinal said. He said those who have been harmed by child sexual abuse or sexual assault “need to hear the voice of the Shepherd say, ‘You are safe. You are mine.’”
About 40 people – mostly employees of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington along with members of the independent Child Protection Advisory Board – attended the Mass.
That Child Protection Advisory Board is comprised of lay experts and a clergy member who advise on and monitor the archdiocese’s compliance with child protection efforts. During the Mass, Cardinal Gregory thanked the members of the board “for their wonderful and important work in making sure our children are protected.”
For 38 years, the archdiocese has had a written Child Protection Policy. When it instituted the policy in 1986, the archdiocese was one of the first in the United States to do so.
The policy was updated in 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2013 and 2019 to incorporate enhancements in child protection and oversight.
In 2019, the update reflected an expanded scope, and was renamed the archdiocese’s Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy, to emphasize the importance of ensuring safe environments for people of all ages, protecting children from sexual abuse and adults from sexual harassment or abuses of power.
The text of the Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy can be found online at https://adw.org/about-us/resources/child-protection/.
Key points of the policy include:
• mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and sexual misconduct, regardless of age and immediate removal of someone credibly accused of such abuse.
• emphasizing transparency and providing pastoral care in abuse cases as well as cases of sexual misconduct.
• requiring all clergy, employees and volunteers who work or volunteer for any archdiocesan institution and/or program to undergo relevant state and federal criminal background checks.
• providing education for children and youth, and for adult staff members and volunteers designed to help prevent abuse from happening.
• expanding its scope to include safe environments for adults working or volunteering in Church ministries and outreach.
The Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy not only applies to those working in schools, but to anyone who participates in religious education, CYO activities, parish activities, retreats and any other Church-related activity.
Cardinal Gregory, who was installed as the archbishop of Washington in May 2019, two months before the revised Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy was issued, has been a national leader in the Church’s efforts to address the abuse crisis.
As the bishop of Belleville, Illinois in 2002, he served as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and led the nation’s bishops in implementing the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which included a “zero tolerance policy” on priests who abuse children.
Since his arrival in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Gregory has marked National Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month by celebrating a special Mass for those who have been affected by abuse in any form.
(Information on the Office of Child and Youth Protection & Safe Environment of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington can be found online at https://adw.org/archdiocesan-offices/office-child-youth-protection-safe-environment/.. The phone number is 301-853-5328.)
