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Enacted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires:
- Outreach to victims and their families, which can include counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups and social services;
- Prompt response to allegations of abuse, readily available reporting procedures and a review board of majority lay people to advise on assessing allegations of abuse;
- No confidentiality agreement in settlements unless requested by the victim/survivor;
- Mandatory reporting of abuse of minors to law enforcement;
- Removal from the ministry of priests found guilty of sexually abusing a child;
- Openness and transparency with the public about sexual abuse of children, especially in communities that are directly affected;
- Creation and maintenance of “safe environment” programs and clear standards for interactions with minors;
- Criminal background checks for priests and deacons and other employees in contact with minors;
- Cooperation with organizations conducting research on the sexual abuse of minors.
[ad number=”1″]View Wisconsin Watch’s spreadsheet of clergy credibly accused of abuse in Wisconsin
More from this series:
Bram Sable-Smith reports on this story for Wisconsin Public Radio
Catholic clergy abuse survivor traces rocky path from abuse to action
Why we examined Catholic Church clergy sexual abuse in Wisconsin
To report Catholic clergy abuse
Here are the “safe environment” contacts for Wisconsin’s five Catholic dioceses for individuals who have been abused by clergy within that diocese.
Green Bay
Justine Lodl, 920-272-8213, www.gbdioc.org/justine-lodl
La Crosse
Teresa Brown, 608-791-2679
tbrown@diolc.org, diolc.org/safe-environment
Madison
Anna Delaney, 608-821-3133, OSE@madisondiocese.org, Cheryl Splinter, 608-821-3162
victimassistance@madisondiocese.org, madisondiocese.org/safe-environment
Milwaukee
Jessica Brandt, 414-758-2232
https://www.archmil.org/offices/safeguarding/get-help.htm
Superior
Kathy Drinkwine, 715-394-0216, kdrinkwine@catholicdos.org, Shayla French, 715-394-0225
sfench@catholicdos.org, catholicdos.org/safe-environment