Diocese of
San Bernardino, California

The Diocese of San Bernardino (“the Diocese”), which was established on November 6, 1978, encompasses two counties in southeastern California. It consists of 97 parishes and 14 missions, 134 diocesan priests, and 92 deacons, and 36 schools, and it serves a population of 1,000,000 registered Catholics. The Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes, who was installed on March 12, 1996, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of September 22-26, 2003.

The information found herein represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of the audit. Information regarding recommended 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 established an outreach program in 1993, which was reformed in May 2002. The bishop, or his designee, has met with all victims/survivors reporting abuse since June 2002. The bishop created a committee for pastoral response to ensure the voices of the victims/survivors are heard and that the bishop is accountable for the edicts of the Charter. The Diocese was commended for this. The victim assistance coordinator is Sr. Rosaline O’Connor, and she brings with her the qualifications necessary for the position. The diocesan review board was established in 1993 and has been reformed to conform to the Essential Norms. It has also been expanded to include a member of another faith and now consists of eight people of diverse backgrounds and occupations. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are available in printed form and appear on the diocesan website. It was recommended that the Diocese develop a complaint form, in both English and Spanish, for reporting allegations of abuse. There have been no confidentiality agreements entered into by the Diocese since June 2002.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Diocese has established effective liaison with civil authorities and has reported all allegations received and detected through file reviews. Open dialogue continues after allegations are reported. The Diocese 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. A clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests and deacons has been established. 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 selected a safe environment program, and training will begin in October 2003. A Recommendation was issued suggesting that every aspect of this training be expedited. The Diocese has publicized standards of conduct for priests and deacons, as well as diocesan employees, volunteers, and other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with youth. Background checks for all personnel who have regular contact with children were instituted in April 2002; however, the process is fragmented. It was recommended that the Diocese establish one central, focal point to be responsible for collecting, reviewing, and maintaining control of all background checks. The Diocese has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse lodged against him to another ministerial assignment. One such priest moved to a diocese in Mexico and was subsequently excardinated from the Diocese. The Mexican diocese was so notified. The bishop and his associates maintain contact with the major superiors in the Diocese and discuss their roles and issues pertaining to allegations and prevention of the sexual abuse of children and young people. In March 2002, the Diocese hosted an interfaith gathering at which more than 70 participants were briefed on the diocesan response to the provisions of the Charter. The Diocese has established a layered screening and evaluation program for selection of candidates for ordination. The Diocese has a systematic, ongoing formation program in keeping with the Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests (2001).1

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Diocese of San Bernardino was issued three Recommendations and one Commendation.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the Diocese develop a form to report allegations of abuse, which is to be printed in English and Spanish.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Diocese expedite every facet of the safe environment program.

RECOMMENDATION 3—That the Diocese create one central, focal point for collecting, reviewing, and maintaining control of all background checks.

COMMENDATION—For the bishop’s creation of the committee for pastoral response and the position of coordinator of diocesan Charter initiatives to assist in the implementation of the Charter.

As of December 1, 2003, all Recommendations have been addressed. The Diocese of San Bernardino is found to be compliant with the provisions of the Charter as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 in Section I.

Note
  1. USCCB, Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2001).



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
January 03, 2004 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops