Archdiocese of
Dubuque, Iowa
The Archdiocese of Dubuque (“the Archdiocese”), which was established as a diocese in 1837 and was designated an archdiocese in 1893, encompasses 17,403 square miles in eastern Iowa. It consists of 201 parishes and 60 schools, has 232 diocesan priests, 69 deacons, and serves a population of 212,619 registered Catholics. The Most Reverend Jerome Hanus, who was installed as archbishop in 1995, leads the Archdiocese. A compliance audit of the Archdiocese was conducted during the period of October 6-10, 2003.

The information set forth below represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of the audit. Information regarding necessary corrective actions taken by the Archdiocese subsequent to the audit will be found in the last paragraph.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Archdiocese has established an outreach program. The archbishop, or his designee, has met or offered to meet with victims/survivors of abuse in the Archdiocese who have reported the abuse since June 2002. There are three victim assistance coordinators under contract to the Archdiocese, two of whom were interviewed during the audit: Dr. Tom Anderegg and Joan Hoffman. It was recommended that the Archdiocese consider establishing a coordinator who would act as the primary person to receive complaints, forward them to the Archdiocese, and maintain contact with victims/survivors for the purpose of coordinating care. The archdiocesan review board was established in 2002 and consists of 12 members, including two priests, one religious, and nine respected members of the lay commu-nity. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form. There have been no confidentiality agreements entered into by the Archdiocese since June 2002.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Archdiocese has established effective liaison with local civil authorities, ensuring an open dialogue regarding sexual abuse allegations. The Archdiocese has a procedure in place to advise victims/survivors of their right to report allegations of abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities. The Archdiocese has established a clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests and deacons. The Archdiocese has a communications policy that reflects the archbishop’s pledge to be open and transparent on issues regarding the sexual abuse of children.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Archdiocese has participated in the research study regarding the “nature and scope” of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

To Protect the Faithful in the Future
The Archdiocese has selected and implemented the VIRTUS safe environment program for adults and children. Standards of conduct for priests and deacons, as well as diocesan employees, volunteers, and any other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people have been publicized. The Archdiocese was not conducting background investigations for all diocesan and parish personnel in regular contact with minors. An Instruction was issued for the Archdiocese to promptly complete such investigations. The Archdiocese has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse lodged against him to another diocese for ministerial assignment, or for purposes of residence since June 2002. The archbishop and the major superiors have coordinated their respective roles regarding issues of allegations of sexual abuse made against a cleric member of a religious institute. The Archdiocese has not had an opportunity to cooperate with other churches, religious bodies, and institutions of learning in conducting research in the area of sexual abuse of minors. The Archdiocese has established screening and evaluative techniques in the selection of candidates for ordination and has a systematic, ongoing formation program for priests.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Archdiocese of Dubuque was issued one Instruction and one Recommendation.

INSTRUCTION—The Archdiocese shall immediately complete background evaluations for all archdiocesan personnel who have regular contact with children and youth.

RECOMMENDATION—That consideration be given to establishing the victim assistance coordinator as the primary person to receive complaints, forward them to the Archdiocese, and maintain contact with victims/ survivors for the purpose of coordinating care.

As of December 1, 2003, all Instructions and Recommendations had been addressed. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is found to be compliant with the provisions of the Charter as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 in Section I.


The compliance audit measured activity that has occurred since the adoption of the Charter in June 2002 with the exception of certain mandated actions found in Articles 5 and 14. Actions taken by the diocese/eparchy prior to June 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons are not included in this summary report.




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Office of Child and Youth Protection
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
(202) 541-5413 | FAX: (202) 541-5410
Email: ocyp@usccb.org