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The tragedy that’s unfolding at Penn State University brings into sharp focus the equally tragic reality that the sexual abuse of minors is a widespread and ongoing problem in this country.
And it shows, once again, how denial, shame or the instinct to protect an institution can kick in, allowing destructive patterns to continue, sometimes for years.
In Penn State’s case, an indictment charges former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky with abusing eight young boys in a 15-year period. Two university officials are charged with failing to report Sandusky to authorities after being told of an incident in 2002. Even in the past week, others have come forward with similar claims against Sandusky.
The fallout took down the university’s president, Graham Spanier, who was forced to resign, and its longtime, legendary football coach Joe Paterno, who was fired.
The Catholic Church is no stranger to the scourge of child sexual abuse. It’s been some 20 years since the clergy sex abuse scandal began to emerge, leaving deep scars that have not all healed.
Indeed, Archbishop Dolan, commenting on the Penn State situation this week, said that the story from State College, Pa., “has reopened a wound in the Church as well.”
It shows, he said, that the problem of sex abuse “is not limited to any one faith and certainly not limited to priests,” but exists everywhere—in all kinds of organizations, in universities and in families too.
What the Penn State case also shows is that there’s a clear need for strong, effective programs to educate the public—both children and adults—on recognizing inappropriate behaviors and on the proper boundaries in adult/child relationships. In other words, what has become known in the Church as “safe environment training.”
That’s what the U.S. bishops developed in 2002, when the clergy sex abuse scandals were enveloping the Church in much the same way that the scandals are enveloping Penn State University now.
The U.S. Church’s safe environment programs, which are monitored regularly, are now in place in all but one of the dioceses and archdioceses around the country. These programs have been recognized as a huge advantage in helping children and their parents, as well as clergy and Church volunteers, become more aware of the warning signs of abuse.
Meanwhile, we can’t stress strongly enough that children should be encouraged to confide in a trusted adult if they encounter inappropriate contact or outright abuse, and adults must promptly report such instances to the police.
The sexual abuse of children is a tragedy, it is shameful and it is a crime.
