Diocese of
Peoria, Illinois
The Diocese of Peoria (“the Diocese”), which was established in 1877, encompasses 26 counties in central Illinois. It consists of 162 parishes, 36 missions, 52 elementary and secondary schools, and one college and serves a population of 240,680 registered Catholics with 221 diocesan priests and 111 deacons. The Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, installed as bishop in April 2002, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of August 18-21, 2003.

The information presented below represents conditions as they were found to exist 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 the early 1990s. The outreach program, which was designed to provide immediate pastoral care to victims/survivors and their families, was developed in 2003. The Diocese does have a victim assistance coordinator, Ann Slaughter, who has many years of social service experience. A diocesan review board was established in 2002, consisting of four priests and nine respected members of the community, including a teacher, several clinical psychologists, a former police officer, and an abuse prevention specialist. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are available in printed form, but consistent dissemination of the pamphlet has not been accomplished. A Recommendation was written requesting wider distribution. 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 little contact with local civil authorities regarding sexual abuse allegations, because no allegations have been reported to the Diocese since June 2002. Policy, however, provides for immediate reporting of allegations to the appropriate authorities. 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, deacons, and other adults who have regular contact with children. 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 implemented a series of safe environment seminars through VIRTUS for presentation to clergy, educators, employees, and volunteers having regular contact with children; however, no training is presently being offered for parents or children and youth. A Recommendation was issued requesting that additional training programs be developed and implemented to include parents and children. 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 a program in place to complete background investigations on all members of the clergy and on all diocesan and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors. 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 religious orders having a presence in the Diocese have coordinated, by telephone, 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 Peoria was issued two Recommendations.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the Diocese disseminate to all parishes the pamphlet describing the procedures for filing a complaint of sexual abuse of a minor.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Diocese develop and implement safe environment programs for the parents and children in the Diocese.

As of December 1, 2003, Recommendation 1 had been addressed; Recommendation 2 had not. The Diocese of Peoria is compliant with the provisions of the Charter with the exception of Article 12 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