Diocese of
Juneau, Alaska
The Diocese of Juneau (“the Diocese”), which was established in 1951, encompasses about 37,500 square miles of islands and tidelands separated from the rest of the state in the southeast portion of Alaska. It consists of 11 parishes and one elementary school and serves a population of about 6,000 registered Catholics with five deacons and 11 diocesan priests. The Most Reverend Michael Warfel, installed as bishop in 1996, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of August 4-8, 2003.

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

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Diocese has had a prevention policy on sexual abuse of minors since 1995. This policy provides for an outreach program designed to deliver immediate pastoral care to victims/survivors and their families; however, the policy is in need of updating to include all of the provisions set forth in the Charter. An interim memorandum had been written to address many of the issues, but a separate all-inclusive document needs to be prepared, for which an Instruction was issued. The Diocese has a victim assistance coordinator, Robbie Izzard, a psychologist. A lay review board, established in 2002, consists of two priests and eight respected members of the community, including several people with experience in dealing with sexual abuse issues. A Recommendation was written suggesting that the bishop remove himself from the process by which the board deliberates. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form; however, a Recommendation was written requesting that a more user-friendly document regarding how to handle a complaint be prepared and distributed. The Diocese has entered into no confidentiality agreements since June 2002, unless requested by the victim/survivor.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Diocese has had contact with local civil authorities regarding sexual abuse allegations and has cooperated in the one investigation initiated since June 2002. Their policy provides for immediate reporting of allegations to the appropriate authorities; however, as previously mentioned, this policy needs to updated. The Diocese does have a procedure for advising victims/survivors of their right to report allegations of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities. The Diocese has established a clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests and deacons. The Diocese has a communications policy reflecting the bishop’s pledge to be open and transparent on issues regarding the sexual abuse of children.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Diocese 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 Diocese has identified and is in the process of establishing a safe environment program for presentation to all adults having regular contact with children and the children themselves. As mentioned above, the Diocese has publicized 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. The Diocese has not completed background investigations on all members of the clergy or all diocesan and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors. An Instruction was written to require that immediate steps be taken to begin background evaluations on adults in contact with children. The Diocese has transferred one priest who had a credible allegation of sexual abuse lodged against him to another diocese for residence since June 2002, and the appropriate bishop was notified of the circumstances; no priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse have been transferred for ministry. A Recommendation was issued suggesting that the exemption to the notification policy for visits lasting fewer than 15 days be removed from the diocesan policy. The bishop and the major superiors of religious orders having a presence in the Diocese have coordinated their respective roles regarding issues of allegations of sexual abuse made against a clerical member of a religious institute, as necessary. The Diocese 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 Diocese has established screening and evaluative techniques in the selection of candidates for ordination and has established formation programs for priests.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Diocese of Juneau was issued two Instructions and three Recommendations.

INSTRUCTION 1—The Policy Regarding Sexual Misconduct, written in 1995 and partially revised by a memorandum from the bishop, must be updated to include all of the provisions set out in the Charter.

INSTRUCTION 2—The Diocese needs to quickly identify how to conduct background criminal checks and begin evaluating the backgrounds of all priests, deacons, and other adults, including volunteers, who have contact with children.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the bishop remove himself from the process by which the review board reaches its determinations.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Diocese create a packet of information that can be furnished to any person alleging clerical sexual abuse of a minor; that this packet contain all information needed by the victim/survivor, including procedures for making the complaint and the victim’s right to report the allegation to civil authorities; and that the packet be provided at the time the complaint is made.

RECOMMENDATION 3—That the existing policy, which articulates the reporting policy for visiting clergy and requires a “certification concerning sexual conduct,” should be modified to remove the exemption for those who are visiting for 15 or fewer days.

As of December 1, 2003, all Instructions and Recommendations had been addressed. The Diocese of Juneau 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