Archdiocese of
New York, New York
The Archdiocese of New York (“the Archdiocese”), which was established as a diocese in 1808 and was elevated to an Archdiocese in 1850, encompasses 10 counties in southeast New York. A total of 596 active diocesan priests and 356 permanent deacons serve 413 parishes and a Catholic community of approximately 2,488,000 parishioners. His Eminence, Cardinal Edward Egan, appointed archbishop in May 2000 and cardinal in February 2001, leads the Archdiocese, assisted by four auxiliary bishops. A compliance audit was conducted during the period of August 25-29, 2003.

The following describes conditions evident during the week of the audit. Information on 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 had an outreach program since July 1993, with articulated policies and procedures. An Instruction directed that the current Archdiocese of New York Policy Relating to Sexual Misconduct, last revised on May 14, 2002, be updated to conform to the Charter. The cardinal’s designees, the victim assistance coordinator, director of priest personnel, and/or the general counsel for the Archdiocese, have met or offered to meet with those victims/survivors and their families who have reported the abuse since June 2002. The victim assistance coordinators are Monsignor Desmond O’Connor and Vice Chancellor Sr. Eileen Clifford, assisted by the in-house General Counsel. An archdiocesan advisory board, established in 1992, was expanded in April 2002. The board comprises a diverse, highly qualified, and experienced group of respected professionals. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available and have been broadcast in the archdiocesan newspaper Catholic New York and on the website. No confidentiality agreements have been entered into by the Archdiocese since the adoption of the Charter.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Archdiocese has established effective liaison with local district attorneys and has a documented policy of immediately reporting all allegations. The Archdiocese has reviewed all complaints against archdiocesan priests within the last 40 years; on April 2, 2002, 25 complaints of sexual abuse were turned over to the New York County district attorney, who then distributed the complaints to the appropriate 10 district attorneys within the Archdiocese. All victims/survivors are advised to make a report to appropriate local authorities. A Recommendation was issued to develop coordinated, written procedures that more effectively advise accused personnel of applicable canon law provisions and provide a written description of the investigative process. The Archdiocese has established clear and well-publicized codes of conduct for clergy. An Instruction directed that the Archdiocese complete the process of establishing separate codes of conduct for clergy and for others in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people. The Archdiocese has a qualified director of communications and is committed to a policy of openness and transparency. Support and assistance are provided to parishes directly affected by clergy misconduct.

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 hired a safe environment director in May 2003; he is attempting to develop and adopt a safe environment program as quickly as possible. This program will provide necessary training for archdiocesan personnel and parents and will address the needs of children and youth. This is a significant task, in that it requires the training of 25,000 archdiocesan personnel. An Instruction was issued to complete the implementation of this program. A background evaluation program was developed and initiated in March 2003. The program was temporarily suspended due to clergy concerns and possible union issues. The program was re-instituted with transitional deacons only. A Recommendation was issued to resolve the issues associated with conducting background investigations of appropriate personnel. Screening and evaluation procedures are used in evaluating the fitness of candidates for ordination. No accused clergy have been transferred outside the Archdiocese to another ministerial assignment. Fifteen accused clerics have relocated outside the Archdiocese since 2002; 13 of those are residing in dioceses within the United States. In each instance, the cardinal has forwarded a letter to the bishop of the location, confidentially providing all information relating to any allegation of sexual abuse of a child by the priest or deacon. The location of the remaining two men is unknown, and all attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. The Archdiocese is in regular contact with each of the 14 major superiors or religious institutes within the Archdiocese regarding coordinating responses to allegations of sexual abuse as necessary. The Archdiocese has not had the 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 of New York has established screening and evaluative techniques in the selection of candidates for ordination and has ongoing formation programs for priests.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Archdiocese of New York was issued three Instructions and two Recommendations.

INSTRUCTION 1—The Archdiocese should revise the current policy on sexual conduct to make it consistent with the provisions of the Charter.

INSTRUCTION 2—The Archdiocese should complete the review process and adopt and implement codes of conduct for clergy and other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people.

INSTRUCTION 3—The Archdiocese should take the steps to establish a safe environment program.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the Archdiocese develop coordinated, written procedures that more effectively advise accused personnel of applicable canon law provisions and provide a written description of the investigative process.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Archdiocese take the necessary steps to fully implement background evaluations on all employees of the Archdiocese.

As of December 1, 2003, Instructions 1 and 2 and both Recommendations had been addressed. With regard to Instruction 3, the Archdiocese of New York has taken steps to establish a safe environment program by designating Dr. Paul Ward to administer its implementation. The VIRTUS program has been selected and an aggressive training schedule prepared. The Archdiocese of New York is found to be compliant with the provisions of the Charter as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 in Section I, with the exception of Article 12—the completion of the implementation of the safe environment program.


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.




__________________________________

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