Diocese of
Norwich, Connecticut
The Diocese of Norwich (“the Diocese”), which was established in 1953, encompasses the four eastern counties of Connecticut and part of Suffolk County, New York. It consists of 78 parishes, 10 missions, and 27 elementary and secondary schools and serves a population of 227,446 registered Catholics with 138 diocesan priests and 59 deacons. The Most Reverend Michael Cote, installed as bishop in 2003, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of July 7-9, 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 1990. This policy provides for an outreach program designed to provide immediate pastoral care to victims/survivors and their families; however, the policy needs to be updated to incorporate all of the provisions of the Charter. A Recommendation was written in that regard. Appropriate pastoral assistance is offered to victims/survivors. The Diocese has a victim assistance coordinator, Virginia Haas, who has a master’s degree in counseling psychology. A diocesan review board, established in 1994 and expanded in 2002, consists of two priests and five respected members of the community, including a physician, a retired nurse, and an attorney. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse exist in both policy and pamphlet form and are on the diocesan website. However, they need to be updated. A Recommendation was written to correct this. The Diocese has entered into no confidentiality agreements since June 2002.

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 their policy provides for immediate reporting of allegations to the appropriate authorities. The Diocese has a procedure for advising victims/survivors of help available and how to report allegations of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities. However these need to be updated. A Recommendation was written to correct this situation. The Diocese is establishing a clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests, deacons, and other people working or volunteering in the Church. 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 is in the process of implementing a series of safe environment seminars for presentation to clergy and adults having regular contact with children through VIRTUS; however, the Diocese was still re-negotiating the contract at the time of the audit. A Recommendation was written for the Diocese to expedite the contract process. The diocesan programs will also include training for the children. As mentioned above, the Diocese is establishing 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 began background checks on all members of the clergy and all diocesan personnel who have regular contact with minors, but was suddenly faced with legal questions regarding background check procedures. The Diocese is taking steps to address all legal questions and to implement a comprehensive screening process that includes criminal background checks and is in compliance with state and federal law. The Diocese has not transferred any priests or deacons who have had credible allegations of sexual abuse lodged against them to any other diocese for ministerial assignment or residence since June 2002. The bishop and the major superiors of 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. 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 ongoing formation programs for priests.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Diocese of Norwich was issued four Recommendations.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the Diocese update a procedure for advising victims/survivors of sexual abuse that they have a right to report the allegation to the civil authorities and for documenting this procedure.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Diocese update its written procedures for filing complaints of sexual abuse from its detailed policy manual to make them more identifiable and easier to reference.

RECOMMENDATION 3—That the Diocese negotiate its contract with VIRTUS to expedite its safe environment training program.

RECOMMENDATION 4—That the current written policy regarding the handling of allegations of the sexual abuse of minors be updated to reflect all of the articles set forth in the Charter.

As of December 1, 2003, all Recommendations had been addressed. The Diocese of Norwich 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