ERIE — The Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service (CBAR) was launched through dioceses nationwide on Monday.
The new resource gives everyone an easily accessible and straightforward option to report the sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult by a bishop, or a bishop’s mishandling of a case of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult.
CBAR was established in response to Vos estis lux mundi (You are the light of the world), the document published by Pope Francis after the February 2019 meeting of the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world.
The Diocese of Erie has a link to the site where reports may be made on its homepage at www.ErieRCD.org. Those making reports will be taken to a third party site run by Convercent Inc. It is not connected to the Diocese of Erie or to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Those wishing to make a report also may do so by calling the toll-free number, 1-800-276-1562.
“It is very important that reports are going to be handled by an outside company,” said the Most Rev. Lawrence T. Persico, bishop of Erie. “People need to have confidence their reports will be handled by professionals with complete confidentiality.”
The United States has 32 ecclesiastical provinces, each headed by an archdiocese. An archbishop — also known as the metropolitan — presides over each province. The Diocese of Erie is part of the Province of Philadelphia, which includes all eight dioceses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and which is overseen by Archbishop Nelson Perez of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Once a report is made, Convercent will send it, unrevised, to the metropolitan of the province in which the reported bishop resides. In addition to the metropolitan, a designated qualified layperson will receive a copy of each report. The report will then be sent, along with an initial assessment by the metropolitan, to the apostolic nuncio — the diplomatic representative of the Holy See.
The current nuncio to the United States, who resides in Washington, D.C., is Archbishop Christophe Pierre.
Should a report concern the metropolitan, it will be sent to the senior bishop among the dioceses in the province, as well as a designated qualified layperson, rather than to the metropolitan.
Once the apostolic nuncio receives a report and assessment, he will forward it to the appropriate authority at the Vatican. Within 30 days, the Holy See will determine if a formal investigation is warranted. If so, the investigation is to be completed and returned to the Holy See within 90 days.
The Vatican usually authorizes an archbishop or cardinal within the United States to oversee the investigation of reports originating in this country. Anyone making a report will receive an access number and password, so he or she can track its status at any time.
CBAR is designed to assess only cases concerning the criminal abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult by a bishop or a bishop’s mishandling of a case of criminal abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult. The company will direct people with complaints about other misconduct to the appropriate authorities. Law enforcement authorities also will be informed of any criminal misconduct.
The new process is the result of the directive from Pope Francis to hold bishops accountable for their behavior. It is yet another action being taken by the Catholic Church to strengthen its commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
Persico was impressed by the online demonstration of how the system works.
“It accomplishes what the Holy Father asked us to do, which is to establish ‘public, stable and easily accessible systems for submission of reports,’” he said.
Anyone wishing to make a report without first accessing the website of the Diocese of Erie may go directly to www.ReportBishopAbuse.org.
