Chronology Page 1 of 3 CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS FROM USCCB GENERAL MEETING JUNE 13-15, 2002
June 14, 2002: Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by a vote of 239-13; canonical “essential norms” also adopted; Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma appointed by USCCB president Bishop Wilton D. Gregory as chairman of National Review Board (NRB) called for in the “Charter” along with three other members Mr. Robert S. Bennett, Dr. Michael Bland, and Justice Anne M. Burke.
June, 2002: Canonical “essential norms” presented to Holy See with request for “recognitio” or approval.
July 24, 2002: Membership of NRB announced.
July 30, 2002: NRB holds first meeting; requests a “snapshot survey” of preliminary response by dioceses to “Charter.”
September 5, 2002: Membership of restructured Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse announced (AHCSA); as required by the “Charter” the Committee now has a bishop member from each of the 14 regions into which the dioceses are divided by the USCCB.
September 19, 2002: Results of “snapshot survey” requested by NRB announced; with almost all dioceses reporting, the vast majority show efforts to fulfill Charter requirements.
October 18, 2002: Holy See and USCCB announce appointment of a “mixed commission” made up of representatives of the relevant offices of the Holy See and members of the USCCB, appointed by the Conference president, to “reflect on and revise” the canonical “essential norms.”
October 23, 2002: Membership of “mixed commission” announced; representing the Holy See: Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Archbishop Julian Herranz, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, secretary for the Congregation for Bishops. Representing the USCCB: Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco; Bishop Thomas Doran of Rockford; and Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport.
October 28-29, 2002: Mixed Commission meets and completes its work.
November 7, 2002: Kathleen McChesney, a senior FBI official, is appointed first executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP) required by the “Charter.” The appointment is effective December 1, 2002. Sister Andree Fries, a member of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon, Missouri, is
Chronology Page 2 of 3 named deputy to the general secretary of the USCCB to deal with the response to the sexual abuse crisis. November 13, 2002: The USCCB adopts the revised “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons” by a vote of 246 to 7; parallel revisions to the “Charter” are also adopted. A “Statement of Episcopal Commitment” is adopted as well, focusing on the “accountability which flows from [the bishops=] episcopal communion and fraternal solidarity, a moral responsibility we have with and for each other.”
December 8, 2002: Revised “Essential Norms” receive “recognitio” (approval) from the Holy See=s Congregation for Bishops.
December 12, 2002: Bishop Gregory promulgates revised “Essential Norms” with an effective date of March 1, 2003.
February, 2003: “Safe environment” guidelines sent to bishops; “Charter” requires dioceses to have “safe environment”- type programs
Weeks of February 17 & 24, 2003: Training of 210 canonists in the norms of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in handling cases of sexual abuse of minors by the clerics and in the USCCB=s “Essential Norms.” Directingthe workshop is Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Promoter of Justice of the CDF.
March 1, 2003: “Essential Norms” come into effect.
March, 2003: Sheila Horan, formerly of the FBI, is appointed Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection.
March, 2003: The Gavin Group, Inc., of Boston, Massachusetts, is selected to conduct a compliance audit of diocesan implementation of the “Charter” in accord with Article 8 of the “Charter” which requires the OCYP to produce an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards in the “Charter.”
March, 2003: The John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York is engaged in accord with Article 9 of the “Charter” which says that the NRB will “commission a descriptive study, with the full cooperation of our dioceses/eparchies, of the nature and scope of the problem” of sexual abuse of minors by clergy within the Catholic Church in the United States.
April-June, 2003: The AHCSA and the OCYP conduct workshops on implementing the “Charter” and the “Essential Norms” and preparing for the compliance audit process for bishops/eparchs in all 14 geographical regions around the country into which the USCCB membership is divided.
Chronology Page 3 of 3 Week of May 19, 2003: Training for the compliance auditors. The Gavin Group trains over 50 auditors. May, 2003: Research begins for the study on the “nature and scope” study conducted by John Jay College.
June 16, 2003: Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating resigns from the NRB; Justice Burke, vice chairperson, assumes the leadership of the NRB and is later named Interim Chair.
June 21, 2003: St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, Chairman of the AHCSA, reports to the Bishops at the USCCB Spring General Meeting in St. Louis on the Conference=s efforts to resolve the sexual abuse crisis since their meeting the previous year in Dallas.
June, 2003: Compliance audit of all dioceses and eparchies called for in the “Charter” begins, conducted by the Gavin Group.
July 29, 2003: The NRB holds a news conference in Chicago to present a report “to make an accounting of [its] stewardship” based on its year of activity.
August 5-7, 2003: Comprehensive training conference for diocesan Victim Assistance coordinators held at Mundelein seminary outside Chicago.
August 11-12, 2003: Additional canon law seminar presented by Monsignor Scicluna of the CDF (see “Weeks of February 17 & 24, 2003” above.)
September/October, 2003: USCCB releases on its Web site and makes available to dioceses in DVD and cassette form a video featuring Bishop Gregory reflecting on the crisis and reviewing the implementation of the actions taken in Dallas in June, 2002. Another video is also released in which Bishop Gregory explains the major elements of the “Charter.” Additional material is made available to assist dioceses in building “Charter Awareness.”
November, 2003: Audits of dioceses/eparchies are concluded. Audit Report scheduled for release January 6, 2004.
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