Independent Review Board Providing "unvarn ished and indep endent consultation ' By Maurice Healy "Unvarnished and independent consultation " is what the six-member Independent Review Board of the Archdiocese of San Francisco provides to Archbishop William J. Levada , according to one member of the board, which p lays a large role in local efforts to address instances of sexual abuse by clergy and other church workers. U.S. bishops one year ago approved the "Charter for the * Protection of Children and Young People " to deal with the crisis of sexual abuse of minors by clergy and other the emp loyees of Church. Included in the Charter is a mandate that all U.S. dioceses have an Independent Review Board to advise the bishop in his assessment of allegations of sexual abuse of minors and his determination of suitability for ministry. The Charter calls for review boards to function as a confidential consultative body to the diocesan bishop . The majority of the review board members must be lay persons not in the employ of the diocese. Review boards are to regularly review diocesan policies and procedures for dealing with sexual abuse of minora. Boards can review these matters both retrospectively and
Invitation to Anniversary Liturgy Archbishop William J. Levada
invites the fa ithful
to participate
in the Sesquicentennial Liturgy
on Sunday, July 27 , 2003 at 3:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Cathedral at Gou gh and Geary in San Francisco, celebrating
150 years since the founding of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
prospectively and give advice on all aspects of responses required in connection with these cases. Many U.S. dioceses established review boards after the Charter was approved , often with great public Howeve r, relations fanfare. the Archdiocese of San Francisco already had formed a group called the "Independent Fact Finding Committee " in 2001 to evaluate allegations of sexual contact between a member of the clergy or Church employee and a minor. With the passage of the Charter by U.S. bishops , this committee evolve d into the Independent Review Board of the archdiocese. The genesis of the Independent Review Board in the Archdiocese of San Francisco accounts for the fact that the identities of board members previously have not been made public. The original members of the Fact Finding Committee believed they could best do their job is their privacy was respected and they were unnamed. "When the board began its work, this was something we talked about," said San Francisco Archbishop William J. Levada. The consensus of the board at the time was not to be publicly identified , REVIEW BOARD, page 9
Thousands of protesters jam the road as they marc h through thea Causeway Bay shopping district in Hong Kong July I. They marched against government p lans to enact an anti-subversion law and demanded the right to elect their own leaders. The day marked the sixth anniversary of the territory 's handover to Chinese rule. Before the protest, some 10 , 000 Chris t i an s, mostly Catholics, assembled for a prayer gathering led by Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong and the Rev. Eric So Shing-yit, general secretary of the Protestant Hong Kong Christian Council. The bishop told the crowd, "If we see injustices happening, we must express our anger."
Close U.S. Supreme Court decision rules California law on molesters invalid By Jack Smith A close, end of term decision by the U.S. Supreme Court may free or reduce the sentences of as many as 800 convicted child sexual abusers around the State, quash the prosecution of scores more and has sparked renewed outrage and determination amongst victims of child sexual abuse. On June 26, by a 5-4 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Marion Stogner, a 72 year old, retired , East Bay paper plant
worker could not be prosecuted for molesting his two dau ghters nearly 50 years ago, after the original statute of limitations on such prosecution had expired.
See Commentary
PAGE 12
Allegations against Marion Stogner came to light during a child abuse investigation of his two sons, Randy and John. Randy wasconvicted of molesting his stepdaughters and John was convicted of molesting chil-
dren at his brother Randy 's day care center. During those investigations, Marion Stogner 's daugh ter 's accused their father of abusing them from 1955 until 1973Stogner was indicted unde r a 1993 California law reviving child sexual abuse cases barred by a previously expired statute of limitation. The California legislature passed the law because they found victims of child sexual abuse are often too afraid, SUPREME COURT, page 8
Franciscan heads
Boston Archdiocese
3
150th Anniversary
6
St. Rap hael Parish
St. Cecilia facelift
10
~ Page 11 ~
Salesians History
14-15
Chap lain in Combat Boots ~ Page 17 ~
Datebook
16
www.cathoIk-sf.org