Isle diocese fails to
meet all directives
Although several Catholic priests here have been removed from public ministry after sexual abuse accusations, an audit found the church in Hawaii has failed to reach out to the victims with spiritual and psychological support.
The diocese of Honolulu was instructed to "develop an outreach program for victims of sexual abuse" and to develop clear standards of behavior for priests and other employees who have contact with children and youth, educate employees on maintaining a safe environment and set a procedure for background checks of all diocesan and parish employees who will deal with children.
The local diocese was found to be in noncompliance with four of 14 directives adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 to address the scandal of sexual predator priests in many American cities. The conference yesterday released results of the first audit, conducted in 191 dioceses by the Gavin Group Inc. of Boston, headed by former FBI agent William Gavin. The audit left dioceses with "instructions" about noncompliance, recommendations and some commendations.
Auditors, who visited Hawaii in July, commended the Hawaii diocese for recognizing early on the need to face the problem, citing its 1990 "Policy on Alleged Sexual Misconduct with Children, Minors and those at Risk" and the creation of the Standing Committee on Sexual Misconduct, made up of psychiatrists, psychologists, family counselors, lawyers and priests.
Diocese spokesman Patrick Downes said local officials have already started initiatives to meet the auditors' instructions. An outreach program will be centered at Catholic Charities Therapeutic Services, which has counselors and therapists to assist victims of sexual abuse.
The national Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests criticized the audit because it was internal, the church looking at itself, without input from the victims.
"I echo the national opinion," said Eugene Saulibio of Oahu, who filed suit last year, alleging the Rev. Joseph Bukoski sexually molested him when he was 15 years old. The accusations from Saulibio and another man about alleged incidents 20 years ago led Honolulu Bishop Francis DiLorenzo to remove Bukoski from duty in 2002.
"I wasn't interviewed and I don't know anybody from Hawaii who was interviewed," said Saulibio, local leader of the Survivors Network. Saulibio criticized the Hawaii Catholic Herald, which last week published the audit results, and which pointed out that only five of the 530 priests who have served in the islands since 1950 have been removed from service because of substantiated sexual abuse.
"Even 1 percent is too much," Saulibio said. "It's not the number, it's the effect they had on people's lives."
The Catholic Herald reported that the diocese paid $9,000 to a psychiatrist for counseling a victim of sexual abuse about 10 years ago.