Denver, Colo., Sep 12, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A Vatican summit on abuse prevention next February will gather the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world. While a Sept. 12 statement from the Vatican said the gathering’s theme would be the “protection of minors,” a Vatican spokesperson clarified that the meeting would discuss “prevention of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.”
Wednesday’s announcement of the meeting has raised questions about who the Church considers to be a “vulnerable adult.”
The USCCB’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” does not use the term “vulnerable adult.”
Nor do the “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons,” which are binding Church policies for addressing sex abuse allegations in the United States.
Several dioceses, do, however, define the term in their own sexual abuse policies.
Policies of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis say that: “‘Vulnerable Adult’ means persons with physical, mental or emotional conditions that render them unable to defend or protect themselves, or get help when at risk of harm.”
In the Archdiocese of Louisville, “an adult 18 years or older is considered vulnerable when, because of impairment of mental or physical functions, that person is unable or unlikely to report abuse or neglect without assistance.”
The Archdiocese of Miami defines a “vulnerable person” as “a minor under 18 years of age or a person whose ability to perform normal activities of daily living is impaired due to a mental, emotional, long-term physical or developmental disability or dysfunction, or brain damage, or the infirmities of aging.”
The Archdiocese of Washington’s policies for child protection say that “a vulnerable individual over the age of seventeen (17) is also covered by this policy…when such a person is unable or unlikely to report abuse without assistance because of impairment of physical or mental function or emotional status.”
Edward Mechmann, director of the Safe Environment Program in the Archdiocese of New York, told CNA that the archdiocese considers a vulnerable person to be “a person of any age who lacks the capacity to give consent due to a mental or developmental condition or disability.”
The Code of Canon Law does not use or define the term “vulnerable adult.” However, the Church’s 2010 “Norms on delicta graviora” say that “a person who habitually lacks the use of reason is to be considered equivalent to a minor” with regard to allegations of clerical sexual abuse.
The February summit was announced in the wake of clerical sexual misconduct allegations across the Church involving minors, as well as allegations of misconduct that targeted seminarians, priests, and other adults.
On Aug. 14, a Pennsylvania grand jury released a report documenting 70 years of sexual abuse allegations in six dioceses in that state. On Sept. 12, a report from the German bishops’ conference documented allegations of clerical sexual abuse during a similar time period.
On June 20, the Archdiocese of New York announced that it had deemed credible an allegation that Archbishop Theodore McCarrick had serially sexually abused a teenage boy in the 1970s. Subsequent reports, however, allege that McCarrick had serially sexually coerced and assaulted seminarians and young priests during decades of his episcopal ministry in New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
Mechmann told CNA that the term “vulnerable adult” as his archdiocese defines it, “would not include seminarians. It is really aimed at protecting people who have developmental disabilities or cognitive disabilities, for instance someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”
“A sound diocesan policy, however, would also encompass any kind of non-consensual sexual conduct, even if it is not strictly covered by the Charter,” Mechmann added.
The Archdiocese of New York’s “Policy on Sexual Misconduct” includes in its definition of sexual misconduct “any sexual act with another person without consent,” as well as “any sexual conduct that is a violation of civil law.”
Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the USCCB’s office for child and youth protection, told CNA that several U.S. dioceses use the definition of “vulnerable adult” provided by civil law.
That definition often refers to a “dependent adult,” he said.
Nojadera noted that “there is nothing in [the Charter] that talks about differential of power. So if you’re looking at differential of power, that’s not addressed in the Charter.”
“That’s where applicability of state law comes in, with regard to the differential of power. A lot of dioceses are looking at their state laws and trying to apply them accordingly,” he said.
With regard to allegations of abuse involving seminarians and other adults, he said he thinks “it would be wise for those types of situations to also be brought forward” at the February meeting of bishops.
“I would hope that there would be a seat at the table for seminarians and for that issue to be addressed,” he told CNA.
In addition to the abuse of minors, vulnerable adults, seminarians, and other adults, Nojadera noted other situations that could, in his view, be addressed, mentioning the difficulties faced by the children of priests, the use of corporal punishment in the Church, and situations involving religious orders.
He also mentioned the importance of consulting with victims of clerical sexual abuse.
“I would hope that survivor victims were invited to this table as well, to be able to address [the meeting],” he said.
Nojadera said that his office often looks for insights from victims of clerical sexual abuse, calling their perspective “invaluable.”
“There’s an awareness that those who have not been abused do not have.”
He also encouraged broader lay involvement in discussions about sexual misconduct in the Church. “The lay faithful have been offering to help and contribute to the solution to this,” he said.
Nojadera said he hopes the February summit will take an expansive view of abuse-related problems in the Church.
“I think we have an opportunity here to just talk about abuse in general. Period.”
“Hopefully,” he said, “they’ll have an opportunity to see the big picture.”
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The Diocese of Winona-Rochester serves 130,000 Catholics. The Santa Barbara Pastoral Region serves over 1,000,000. Where else might Bishop Barron have been assigned?
Well, given the long-time scandal of careerism, but now the importance given to the peripheries, perhaps we can look forward to Cinderella-Cardinal Cupich someday being re-assigned to, say, the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, where there are about 12,000 Catholics, and no Latin Masses.
Good idea!
As loyal as Bishop Barron is to the pontiff his assignment might be due to attachment to deceased traditions. Actually, the area is beautiful, Minnesota U has a campus in Winona [where my brother lectured], the original Mayo Clinic is in Rochester.
With all due respect, Fr. Morello I am so disappointed that Bishop Baron forgot his fellow priests. There are wonderful hard working priests that should have been referred to become Monsignors. I think he is too self serving. It’s very easy to get puffed up!
What are the real reasons behind this appointment? Why Bishop Barron? Is this a promotion, a gesture of confidence in the faithful and evangelically articulate Bishop? Or is this a type of demotion, a sign that the present Vatican administration is not satisfied with his theological message?
My guess, and that’s all it is, is that it’s getting a midwesterner like Barron back to the midwest.
Los Angeles seemed to be the place for a cleric like Bishop Barron, the city being the heart of cinematic and modern communication technological talent, where the Bishop could draw on the latest advances of know-how in this field for his worthy Word on Fire project. But the good Bishop has been maligned by both right and left. Since the present Vatican administration seems to be controlled by those more sympathetic to woke leftism, my suspicion is that these Vatican bureaucrats do not favor Bishop Barron’s center/right theology. Hence he was sidelined to a smaller diocese with less ecclesial influence…
I can’t help but see parallels to Venerable Fulton Sheen. A popular televangelist and auxiliary bishop of a major see is suddenly shipped off to a previously obscure diocese named Rochester to be the ordinary. I’ll be curious to see how this turns out in three years.
Bishop Sheen’s appointment to my home diocese (hardly obscure) was notable for his advocacy in race relations and his opposition to the war in Vietnam. Bishop Barron is about a decade younger than his predecessor was.
Look at it this way: Bishop Barron is a gifted writer and filmmaker. He’s been a professor most of his career. He only moved into leadership in 2012 as a seminary rector. He’s been #2/3 in a large diocese, but that’s not the same as being captain of his own ship. Maybe his gifts are better suited to his diocese in Minnesota, which is hardly a backwater.
Does everything have to have a political undercurrent?
No comparison!
Bishop Barron seems to be pleased with the appointment. So, it is best to leave it at that.
In reading Bishop Barron’s daily Gospel reflection, I note how often he states, “Your life is not about you.” Yet, The Word on Fire ministry sure seems to be all about Bishop Barron. All the videos of important people in Church history feature Bishop Barron prominently. Perhaps, if he had invited other prelates to be part of this series, I might be more inclined to believe him when he says, “Your life is not about you.”
Have you ever actually watched any of Bishop Barron’s conversations with prominent thinkers/rationalists/evolutionary professors…etc? His videos are the opposite of self-centered. God bless you and I hope you find it in your heart to see all life as a gift. Bishop Barron’s gifts are helping a great many people in a time when the world is very self-centered and prideful.
Thank you I agree and say AMEN
There are indeed striking parallels with Bishop Sheen. I recall his publicly welcoming his appointment (as Bishop Barron has) to Rochester N.Y. in the 1960s. The care of souls, he said, was his great concern. Rochester N.Y. was a far cry from New York City. It clearly did not require a man of Sheen’s great gifts. Likewise, Winona-Rochester is a world away from Los Angeles, and does not require an immensely gifted bishop. Now, as in Bishop Sheen’s day, high church appointments are politically charged. Let us hope and pray Bishop Barron’s tenure will not end as Bishop Sheen’s did.
Godly men appointed to high office are well received by the faithful. Yet, others have responsibility but lack fidelity to scripture and church tradition. Each must decide whom he will serve.
James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Blessings to Bishop Barron and appreciation to he who appointed him.
I suspect the appointment, like many others, is a ‘test’ or stepping stone that others who have eventually became archbishops or cardinals went through: first as an auxiliary, then as the bishop of a smaller diocese to see if they can handle being in charge of a small place. Hopefully Bishop Barron can do good work both as bishop and overseeing Word On Fire – maybe a smaller diocese gives him leeway to continue to work on his media projects. But that’s just speculation.
I’ve always enjoyed my time with Barron when in Chicago and wish him the best in Minnesota.
AMEN i AGREE i AM A MEMBER OF WORD ON FIRE AND FOLLOW HIM FAITHFULLY AND I LIKE HIS WAY FO REACHING OUT ( NOT OLD FASHIONED)….MODERN……