wfn.org | Episcopalians: Pedophilia not unknown, but rare, in Episcopal Church

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

March 25, 2002

2002-069

Episcopalians: Pedophilia not unknown, but rare, in Episcopal 
Church

by Ed Stannard 

(Episcopal Life) Recent revelations of sexual abuse of children 
by Roman Catholic priests may cause Episcopalians to wonder: Can 
it happen here?

While instances of pedophilia have occurred in the Episcopal 
Church--and likely in many other faith and secular groups as 
well--safeguards that were set in place as much as 10 years ago 
by dioceses and the Church Insurance Company (CIC) make it less 
likely that this church would suffer such a tragedy, say those 
involved in sexual-abuse prevention.

The issues concerning sexual abuse in the church are complex, 
involving screening candidates for ordination (although lay 
employees and volunteers are also potential abusers), procedures 
to handle cases that come to light and safeguards to keep 
offenders from being able to repeat the abuse. Part of the 
scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston was that 
former priest John Geoghan abused scores of boys but was moved 
from one parish to another during a 36-year career.

Theres a clear feeling that the Episcopal Church was one of 
the leaders in these requirements, which have become pretty much 
accepted, said Rod Webster, senior vice president and general 
manager of the Church Insurance Company, a division of the 
Church Pension Group. In the early 1990s, he said, a lot of 
people fought back, even in the church. A lot of people thought 
it couldnt happen here. ... But you dont hear that anymore. 
What was revolutionary has become, Of course we do this. Now, 
Webster said, dioceses are asking for more information and 
guidelines.

Set of procedures

CIC and others in the church began to act after a jury 
awarded a Colorado woman $1.2 million in a judgment against the 
Diocese of Colorado and then-Bishop William Frey in 1991 (Frey 
was named as ecclesiastical authority). Now, CIC encourages 
dioceses and others it insures to put in place procedures such 
as 

 A sexual-misconduct policy and procedure manual.

 Background checks of all clergy and volunteers who 
regularly supervise youth activities, as well as all other 
employees.

 Four hours of child sexual-abuse awareness training for 
those clergy, employees and volunteers.

 Four hours of training on issues of sexual harassment 
in the workplace and sexual exploitation in pastoral 
relationships.

 Ongoing supervision of clergy and other pastoral-care 
providers, including professional counseling when appropriate.

 Adoption of procedures to notify authorities and to 
assess and rehabilitate suspected abusers.

These were the beginning and these came very early among the 
denominations in addressing the issue, said Webster. Many of 
them have followed this process but a number of years later.

There have been cases more recently of pedophilia and other 
sexual misconduct in the Episcopal Church, though the biggest 
cases are the result of claims a number of years ago:

 A jury awarded $105 million in the case of a teacher at 
the private, Episcopal-related Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, 
South Carolina. Edward Fischer was sentenced to 20 years in 
prison in the abuse of 13 boys in the 1970s and early 80s, 
according to an Education Week article.

 Former Episcopal priest Kenneth Behrel was found guilty 
on February 7 of abusing a 14-year-old boy at St. James School 
near Hagerstown, Maryland, in the 1980s, according to the 
Washington Post.

Managing the risks

Webster said the claims against Church Insurance have been 
difficult, and that the trustees of the Church Pension Group 
have examined whether CIC should continue offering such 
insurance. Webster is in favor of continuing such coverage, as 
well as risk management programs in which victims and others 
are counseled about ways to proceed with charges of sexual 
misconduct. These things, if theyre handled well by the 
institution, the scars disappear immediately. Most victims love 
their church and arent looking for money, he said.

We are better able to get risk-management focus on this issue 
as a family, if you like, than to leave it to the marketplace.

The Rev. Virginia Herring of Greensboro, North Carolina, 
co-chair of the Committee on Sexual Exploitation, noted that the 
diocese has primary responsibility for conduct of its clergy. 
Almost every diocese has procedures in place to handle sexual 
misconduct, she said.

In general, and this is very general because [dioceses] are 
different ... [the church] responds to allegations with an 
investigation and Title 4 proceedings kick in, she said. A 
diocesan review committee would have responsibility for 
investigating accusations, and the bishop has authority to 
suspend an accused priest.

Herring also said its unlikely that a pedophile would be moved 
from one parish to another. That used to be the norm but it is 
no longer the norm, she said. The church began responding to 
this in the late 80s, early 90s and from that point on we have 
worked hard not to do that.

Of course, the ideal is for candidates to be screened beforehand 
so that pedophiles wont ever wear a collar or work with youth. 
Thats where background checks come in, but nothing is 
foolproof, said Herring.

Healthy clergy is key

The issues around prevention have to do with having healthy 
clergy, she said, noting that most sexual-misconduct cases do 
not involve pedophilia. Its from people [who] for whatever 
reasons get careless and unthinking in their pastoral relations 
and they abuse the trust and the healthy boundaries.

The Rev. Canon Gene Robinson of the Diocese of New Hampshire is 
executive secretary of Province 1, comprising the seven New 
England dioceses. His province has been cited by Herring and 
others as a model for its safeguards against abusive clergy. It 
offers training for those who might be involved in Title 4 
cases, as well as background checks, education and standard 
policies and procedures across the province.

I would call it an unqualified success in terms of the 
education effort in our congregations, said Robinson. Church 
employees come to the training skeptical but go away empowered, 
because they realize theyre the front line of defense against 
abuse. The more employees understand the issues, Robinson said, 
the less likely this behavior is going to go unnoticed.

------

RESOURCES

Brochure

Preventing Sexual Misconduct: A Guide to Resources by Church 
Insurance Co., available at 
www.cpg.org/insurance/publications/index.html or from 445 Fifth 
Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.

Agencies

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (a 
service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), 
www.calib.com/nccanch.

National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, www.childabuse.org

Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence 
(offers workshops, videos, quarterly newsletter), www.cpsdv.org

The Child Abuse and Neglect State Statutes (most recent statutes 
on aspects of child abuse), www.calib.com/nccanch/whatsnew.htm

--Ed Stannard is news editor of Episcopal Life, the official 
newspaper of the Episcopal Church.