Updated at 9:24 a.m., Friday, April 12, 2002

Diocese publishes policy on abuse

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Religion and Ethics Writer

In today's issue of the Hawaii Catholic Herald, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu outlined its policies about sexual molestation by priests and provided some information about past transgressions by priests.

The publication comes at a time when Roman Catholic leaders have been criticized for sexual molestation cases involving priests on the Mainland.

Catholic Herald editor Patrick Downes said while most of the points in the 15,000-circulation church paper have already been made public, he said he wanted to address the issue in Hawai'i in a public way.

"It's obviously an issue that a lot of people have had questions about," he said.

Downes said that in the past 15 years, four priests were removed from the ministry because of sexual misconduct allegations, the most recent of which was about nine years ago.

The diocese will not reveal their names or discuss their cases "because those cases are inactive and closed," the paper said. "To reopen the cases would serve no purpose since the priests have long been removed from service. The diocese has the obligation to protect the privacy of both the victim and priest wherever possible."

There currently are no priests working in active ministry who have had “any substantiated accusations of sexual abuse against a minor,” the paper notes.

In a two-page spread that included stories about Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo's letter to his clergy telling them to not lose faith in light of the national controversy, a question-and-answer column written by Downes spelled out how the diocese should treat victims and perpetrators of such abuse.

Among the points:

• If a priest, deacon or any other church employee has been convicted of "or exposes a potential risk" for sexual abuse, the diocese will not allow the perpetrator to return to "active public ministry." Downes said later that whether they would be allowed to work in any other capacity would be left up to the bishop.

• In the mid-1990s, the diocese paid out $9,000 over two years to cover the medical insurance and counseling bills of a woman was the victim of alleged sexual misconduct by a priest. Downes said the alleged misconduct occurred when the woman was a minor. The priest is no longer in active ministry, he said.

• A standing committee that examines abuse allegations met last month to review "old cases and allegations." The group comprises attorneys, priests and psychologists and is scheduled to have at least one more meeting to continue the discussion, Downes said.