Archeparchy of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia (“the Archeparchy”) includes the District of Columbia and the states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Each state is headed by a dean who reports to the archbishop. Archbishop Stefan Soroka, who was installed in February 2001, leads a Catholic community of 69,000, with 88 priests and four deacons. A compliance audit of the Archeparchy was conducted during the period of September 15-18, 2003.

The following describes conditions evident during the week of the audit.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Archeparchy has established an outreach program described in its Sexual Abuse Policy of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. The archbishop exercises close supervision over all matters relating to sexual abuse against minors by the clergy. In April 2003, the archbishop appointed Sr. Natalya Stoczanyn, SSMI, as the victim assistance coordinator; she is well qualified for this position and also serves as director of youth ministry. An outreach program for providing assistance to victims/survivors is well documented and in place. A six-member advisory review board was recently been established. In July 2002, the entire Charter was printed in the archeparchial newspaper, The Way. A brochure, Victim Assistance Ministry, available in both Ukrainian and English, identifies the professional and pastoral support that a victim/survivor will receive when a complaint of sexual abuse is filed. There have been no confidentiality agreements entered into since June 2002.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The aforementioned policy, promulgated in English and Ukrainian and revised in September 2003, addresses all aspects of responding to allegations of sexual abuse by clerics and employees. There have been no allegations of sexual abuse reported since June 2002; therefore, no complaints have had to be reported to civil authorities. The archeparchial policy includes, and each affected employee acknowledges receipt of, clear standards of conduct for ministerial behavior and appropriate boundaries. The Archeparchy has a communications policy of openness and transparency.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Archeparchy 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 Archeparchy has a comprehensive, documented safe environment program, which has been utilized to educate all clergy and employees in regular contact with minors. In addition, clerics have been introduced to the four-part program A Sacred Trust, which educates them regarding the safety of minors. Training throughout the expansive territory of the Archeparchy is also coordinated through the respective deans of the six districts/states. The Archeparchy uses the various state police agencies to conduct criminal background inquiries on all employees. Screening and evaluation techniques to evaluate the fitness of candidates for ordination have been established. The Archeparchy has a documented program for continuing priestly formation, administered by the vocations director.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia was 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