Survey Discovers Dioceses are Addressing Issues of Sexual Misconduct
Episcopal News Service. April 13, 2000 [2000-075]
(ENS) A survey of nearly all the church's dioceses reveals high levels of attention to issues of sexual misconduct -- and policies and procedures to handle allegations of sexual exploitation and child abuse.
The survey was conducted under the auspices of the Office of Pastoral Development and the Executive Council's Committee on Sexual Exploitation with responses from 90 of the 103 dioceses surveyed. Bishop Clay Matthews, director of the Office of Pastoral Development, said that it is "gratifying to see that nearly all the dioceses of the Episcopal Church are addressing the problem of sexual misconduct by instituting programs to increase awareness of the problem and to prevent its occurrence, and by implementing diocesan policies and procedures in response to Title IV," the church's disciplinary canons.
The committee was formed in 1991 to address "long-ignored signs of brokenness and abuse," spurred by some very expensive insurance settlements. In 1994 the General Convention adopted sweeping changes in the canons that deal with misconduct.
The Executive Council authorized the survey "to discover what we are doing as a Christian community to move our churches toward being safer places." Dr. Mary Meader of Massachusetts was the project director, assisted by Elizabeth Bishop, a licensed clinical social worker.
The research concluded that there has been considerable progress towards an awareness of the issue in the church and establishing procedures to deal with misconduct, although there are substantial variations among the dioceses, depending on size and resources.
Responses to the survey also uncovered some reservations about the canons, noting that they are difficult to implement and that the "adversarial nature" does not always mesh with the "pastoral needs of a given situation." There was not a clear understanding that the canons are needed when "pastoral efforts fail to bring resolution."
Some who responded also complained that there is still resistance among bishops and clergy "may fear violating a collegiality code, false accusations, family destruction, job loss and humiliation, or disturbing the equilibrium of parish or diocesan life, all of which contribute to continued denial in some dioceses."
The survey urged the church to reflect on the theology of reconciliation, how a person who is guilty of sexual misconduct or abuse can "move through admission of sin to repentance, to amendment of life and therefore forgiveness and atonement."