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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Diocese of Greensburg
Actions taken to Protect Children and Vulnerable Adults 1985 to Present
Who we are
The Diocese of Greensburg is one of eight separate Roman Catholic Dioceses in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It does not share fiscal assets with any of the other dioceses
in Pennsylvania or in the country, since the dioceses are all separate entities both in Canon and
Civil law. The Diocese of Greensburg is the second smallest Diocese in Pennsylvania, consisting
of four counties Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana and Westmoreland that are primarily rural
with approximately 142,051 registered Catholics in our geographic territory.
The Diocese of Greensburg publishes separate, detailed, audited annual reports on its
operating budget (the most recent was published in the Nov. 19, 2015, issue of The Catholic
Accent, the diocesan newspaper), on The Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Greensburg
(the most recent in the Jan. 14, 2016, issue of The Catholic Accent) and for Catholic Charities of
the Diocese of Greensburg (March 19, 2015). All of the Diocese of Greensburgs financial
reports are audited by a firm independent of the diocese. The complete reports are available
from the Diocese upon request.
How the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has acted to protect Children and
Vulnerable Adults
The Charter for the Protection of Young People and the Essential Norms were approved by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at its national meeting in 2002. The
charter created a national Church policy that put in place national structures at the Conference
level and requires more comprehensive Diocesan structures be in place to create safe
environments for children and young people, to reach out to victims and assist them, to end
secrecy, to immediately report abusers to civil authorities and cooperate in all civil
investigations, and to permanently remove abusers from all ministries.
The USCCB charter policies require that any cleric credibly accused of abusing a child is
immediately removed from ministry pending a complete and independent investigation. In the
event that the allegation is substantiated, the priest is never to be reassigned to ministry. The
norms require all Bishops to adhere to this national policy. The charter and norms also require
annual independent audits to determine how each Diocese is in compliance. In the Diocese of
Greensburg the total cost of our national audits from 2003 through 2015 has been $56,763.
The USCCB also commissioned a study by the City University of New Yorks John Jay College of
Criminal Justice on the scope of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. It is
the first study of its kind ever to look at a specific population in such comprehensive detail.
Diocese of Greensburg Policy Growth and Development
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In April 1985, Bishop William G. Connare established the Diocese of Greensburgs first written
policy on Clergy Sexual Misconduct. This policy mandated that a priest be put on administrative
leave as soon as a credible allegation of wrongdoing with a child had been made.
In September 1994, a more detailed policy on Clergy Sexual Misconduct was promulgated by
Bishop Anthony G. Bosco. Likewise, in 1994 Bishop Bosco established a Clergy Sexual
Misconduct Review Board consisting of one priest and five independent laypeople from the
legal, counseling and child psychology professions. Members serve for five-year terms. The
Diocesan Review Board, an advisory group to the Diocesan Bishop, serves as a confidential
review body. This group is convened by the Bishops Delegate. The Bishops Delegate,
appointed by the Diocesan Bishop, is the person in charge of overseeing investigations of clergy
sexual misconduct and recommending subsequent interventions, related to the cleric in
question, to the Vicar General and the Diocesan Bishop. The Review Board develops those
reports and recommendations for the Bishops Delegate and provides the Delegate advice and
recommendations regarding a pastoral response to victims and a comprehensive response plan
for an affected parish or institution. The Diocesan Review Boards work is completely
independent from the investigation that is conducted by law enforcement. On the part of the
Church, nothing is ever done to compromise or obstruct any civil or criminal investigation.
In February 2002, the Clergy Sexual Misconduct Policy was further revised with the addition of a
Victims Assistance Coordinator who is appointed by the Diocesan Bishop to provide appropriate
spiritual and psychological help to families, parishes or church institutions impacted by an
abuse allegation.
The Diocese of Greensburg also reviewed the personnel file of every Diocesan priest who had
served in the diocese since its formation in 1951. This review found allegations of improper
conduct on the part of eight priests dating from 1962-82. Information on the eight cases was
forwarded to the Westmoreland County District Attorney. The Diocesan Review Board
reviewed all eight cases, and the Diocesan Bishop accepted the recommendations of the Board.
Two retired priests were banned from public ministry, and three priests in active ministry were
permanently removed from their assignments. The three priests in active ministry all have
since resigned from the priesthood. The Board recommended to the Bishop that the other
three cases did not have sufficient evidence to move forward. The District Attorney never filed
charges in any of the eight cases.
The Diocese of Greensburg and its insurance carriers have paid $667,711 in settlements and
counseling fees related to allegations since the 1951 formation of the Diocese of Greensburg.
Of that total, $267,600 was spent on one case which was settled in the early 1980s.
Also in 2002, all Diocesan priests and any Religious Order priest in Diocesan ministry were
required to comply with Pennsylvania Act 33 (child abuse clearance) and Act 34 (criminal
background check). Before a priest from outside the Diocese receives permission to minister in
the Diocese of Greensburg, in addition to the above mentioned PA State clearances, he is
required to complete and submit to the FBI fingerprint clearance search and to present a
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current letter of suitability for ministry, which documents his good standing, from his Diocesan
Bishop or religious superior
In April 2003, the Diocese released its Policy to Protect Minors which was a consolidation of all
of its existing personnel policy requirements governing diocesan employees and volunteers
who have significant contact with minors. These requirements include the Act 33 and 34
background checks and clearances. This policy was further refined in September 2003 with the
additional mandate that all lay employees and volunteers, in addition to clergy, who have
significant contact with minors receive VIRTUS training. Even the Diocesan Bishop participates
in VIRTUS training and in the in-service on all Pennsylvania Mandated Reporting requirements.
In September 2012, Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt promulgated the Code of Pastoral Conduct,
which brings all earlier Diocesan policies into one document and clearly sets forth standards
and expectations for all people who act in the name of the Diocese. It applies to all bishops,
priests, deacons, religious and lay members of the faithful including all employees and
volunteers who assist in providing pastoral care in the Diocese of Greensburg, including its
parishes, schools, programs and other diocesan entities. The Code of Pastoral Conduct provides
a new level of protection by including in Diocesan Policy the protection of vulnerable adults and
by defining boundary issues. Bishop Malesic promulgated this same Code of Pastoral Conduct
on July 14, 2015, the day following his episcopal ordination and installation as the fifth Bishop
of the Diocese of Greensburg. The Code of Pastoral Conduct is posted on the Diocesan website.
Diocese of Greensburg Outreach
The diocesan website, www.dioceseofgreensburg.org, has a link on its homepage that gives
people an easy way to report a concern about clergy, employee or volunteer sexual
misconduct. Here anyone can readily access the Diocesan Code of Pastoral Conduct, and the
United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Charter for the Protection of Young People and
the Essential Norms.
In addition, our Diocesan Newspaper, The Catholic Accent, regularly publishes the contact
information for PA ChildLine and for reaching the Bishops Delegate regarding matters of sexual
misconduct. Every parish receives contact information for ChildLine and for the Bishops
Delegate in a regularly-scheduled reminder to publish in its weekly bulletin, as well as
informational posters to be placed in every Diocesan parish, school or other Diocesan entity.
Mandatory and regular publication of this information in its Catholic Newspaper, its parish
bulletins and on its website is the Diocese of Greensburgs way of reaching out to victims and
encouraging them to come forward. In 2003, the Diocese established a victims abuse reporting
line. This telephone number allows anyone to report suspected child abuse after they have
contacted the states ChildLine reporting number. To our knowledge, no other private or public
institution does this type of outreach, which is an indication of how seriously the Catholic
Church in the Diocese of Greensburg takes this issue.
Our Commitment
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There is no Diocesan or Religious priest, staff person or volunteer in active ministry who has
been the subject of a substantiated allegation of abuse against a minor that has been reported
to the Diocese of Greensburg.
The Diocesan Bishop always has invited victim survivors to meet with him to pursue healing and
reconciliation as part of the dioceses commitment to work closely with victims and their
families for wholeness and healing. The Diocese oversees the provision of counseling, including
the offer of independent outside counseling services and contact with support groups and
other social service assistance.
VIRTUS, Protecting Gods Children
As of March 2016, the Diocese of Greensburg has provided VIRTUS, Protecting Gods Children,
training to 12,064 adults since instituting the program in 2003. VIRTUS is the brand name of a
best practices program designed to help recognize and prevent wrongdoing within religious
organizations, primarily in the areas of child sexual abuse and other inappropriate sexual
behavior. This type of training, or its equivalent, was mandated by the charter and essential
norms. As of March 2016, the Diocese of Greensburg has invested $154,838 in training and
educating people in the VIRTUS program. VIRTUS training, or its equivalent, is now required of
everyone who volunteers or works in the Diocese of Greensburg. That includes the Diocesan
Bishop, all clergy, school employees, parish-based employees and all volunteers.
The diocese has provided mandated reporting training to 7,318 adults, educating them about
the legal requirements for reporting suspected child abuse under the Pennsylvania Child
Protective Services Law that went into effect in May 2007 and was updated in December 2014.
In this past year alone, 10,811 children in Catholic schools and parish-based religious education
programs in the Diocese of Greensburg have received age-appropriate abuse prevention
education.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacted new legislation which went into effect in
December of 2014 that updated, among other items, the Child Protective Services Law related
to the reporting of suspected child abuse and background checks. The Diocese of Greensburg,
making the broadest interpretation of those requirements, requires all of its employees and all
of its volunteers, whether or not they work directly with children and teens, to go through the
state-mandated background checks and to adhere to the new reporting laws. That includes
every member of the clergy, including the Diocesan Bishop, and every volunteer working in any
Diocesan entity, including its parishes and Catholic schools, whether they work directly with
children or not.
Charter Compliance
The Diocese of Greensburg has been found to be in compliance with the Charter for the
Protection of Children and Young People and the Essential Norms in every one of its external
audits conducted from 2003 through the fall of 2015.
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The audits from 2003 until 2011 were conducted by the Gavin Group and from 2012 until
present by StoneBridge Business Partners. Both audit firms are independent from the Diocese
and hired by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops to monitor the compliance of
each Diocese with the Charter for the Protection of Young People and the Essential Norms.
The Diocese of Greensburg is firmly committed to continuing all of the measures it has
implemented to prevent the sexual abuse of children and young people.
March 30, 2016

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