Prelates say U.S. scandal could have been prevented - Church in Crisis - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, April 12, 2002

CANADA: The sexual abuse scandal rocking the U.S. Catholic church might have been prevented if guidelines similar to those used by the Canadian church were followed, interviews with two Canadian archbishops suggest.

"I get the impression that in the U.S. they haven't got the same protocols that we've put in place, or if they have they haven't been followed," said Archbishop Adam Exner of Vancouver, British Columbia, March 26.

He said the U.S. church appears to be going through what the Canadian church experienced in the late 1980s in the wake of revelations of widespread sexual abuse by clergy at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland. Several priests and brothers from the orphanage were convicted of sexual abuse of youths and other reports of abuse surfaced elsewhere in Canada.

The U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse issued three volumes of resource materials on clergy sex abuse in 1994-96 under the title "Restoring Trust."

Exner was on a committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops that in 1992 produced "From Pain to Hope," a report that called on Catholics to "break the silence." It also laid down guidelines for the dioceses to follow, including giving immediate attention to complaints, full cooperation with civil authorities and a prompt offer of support and counseling to alleged victims and their families.