• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Jerri Burkhardt directs the archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Charter, training still aim to protect children

November 27, 2017
By Christopher Gunty
Filed Under: Child & Youth Protection, Feature, Local News, News

Recent attention on sexual misconduct in Hollywood and politics has highlighted concerns and pain that the Catholic Church has been addressing for decades.

The church was at a similar critical juncture 15 years ago, when the problem of clergy sexual abuse reached crisis level due to the national scope of the problem.

Some dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore, had policies in place well before 2002 regarding sexual misconduct by clergy.

Jerri Burkhardt, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Child and Youth Protection, said the U.S. bishops in 2002 “realized that the church was in crisis, that people were really hurting because not only had there been children and young people who were victims of sexual abuse by some priests and deacons but that also the church’s response was harmful to people.”

The bishops wanted to restore trust.

“They knew, I think, that acknowledging wrongs of the past and apologizing for them was not enough. They actually had to take action,” she said.

The charter was established to set up guidelines the bishops believed would ensure protection of young people.

“The guidelines include really promoting healing and reconciliation with victims and survivors of sexual abuse and guaranteeing an effective response to the abuse. Accountability, of course, is a very important part of that,” Burkhardt said.

Burkhardt was hired in 2008 as associate director of the archdiocesan Office of Children and Youth Protection, taking up the position as director of that office earlier this year. She came to the archdiocese after years of experience working with children who were abused and neglected and adult survivors of abuse.

Her office provides a variety of services for victims or survivors of abuse when the perpetrator is an employee or volunteer of the church.

“First and foremost, we listen to what they have to say and try to learn from their experience and offer an apology to them – in person and in writing,” she said.

They are also offered an opportunity to meet with Archbishop William E. Lori so they can share with him their experience, and the archbishop then can “share with them on behalf of the church a sincere apology in person.”

The archdiocese also offers pastoral support and counseling, and pays for the services of the therapist or counselor of the victim’s choice.

A key part of the charter’s provisions for ensuring protection of children is the screening and training of all archdiocesan employees, including clergy and religious, at Catholic Center agencies, and all parishes and schools. Any volunteer who will work with children also must be screened and trained.

To date, nearly 300,000 people in the archdiocese have undergone such training, Burkhardt said. All employees and volunteers must undergo the training every five years.

The archdiocese had been using a program called Shield the Vulnerable until it was abruptly discontinued by the vendor in October. As of Nov. 1, the archdiocese joined more than 90 other dioceses using the Virtus training program.

As of this year, Virtus provides all the features of Shield the Vulnerable, and more, including online training and certification. All the features are available in English and Spanish.

Potential employees can register through the Virtus system for background screening. New employees, after completing training about such issues as how to report cases of suspected misconduct, can read the archdiocese code of conduct and statement of policy, and acknowledge in the online portal that they have read and understand these materials.

Burkhardt said she was incredibly pleased with the support of screening coordinators, especially in recent weeks. “We asked a lot of them in the transition (to Virtus),” she said. “They have been awesome.”

Reporting Abuse

The Archdiocese of Baltimore complies with Maryland laws requiring reporting suspected child abuse to civil authorities. Under Maryland Law, any person who has reason to believe a child has been subjected to abuse must report the suspected abuse to civil authorities, even if the potential victim is now over 18 years old and even in cases where the alleged perpetrator is deceased.

If someone associated with the church, including clergy, employees or volunteers of the archdiocese, is suspected of abuse, then the suspected abuse must also be reported to the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection at 410-547-5438 or the Victim Assistance Line at 1-866-417-7469.

Also see:

Catholic Baltimore Radio interview with Jerri Burkhardt

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Christopher Gunty

A Chicago-area native, Christopher Gunty is associate publisher/editor of The Catholic Review and CEO of its parent publishing company, The Cathedral Foundation/CR Media. He also serves as a host of Catholic Review Radio.

He has spent his whole professional career in Catholic journalism as a writer, photographer, editor, circulation manager and associate publisher. He spent four years with The Chicago Catholic; 19 years as founding editor and associate publisher of The Catholic Sun in Phoenix, Ariz.; and six years at The Florida Catholic. In July 2009, he came to Baltimore to lead The Cathedral Foundation.

Chris served as president of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada from 1996 to 1998, and has traveled extensively learning about and reporting on the work of the church, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Haiti, Poland, Italy, Germany and finally in 2010 visited the Holy Land for the first time.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Gov. Moore’s budget cuts BOOST, proposes phase-out of scholarship program
  • Mercy delivers Magic show in ‘Classic’ victory over Maryvale
  • Movie Review: ‘The Pale Blue Eye’
  • Question Corner: Burning or burying sacramentals? And why use holy water?
  • ‘I love you, Papa!’: Maryland Catholics recall encounters with Pope Benedict XVI

| Latest Local News |

Catholic schoolteachers describe what they love about their jobs

Mercy delivers Magic show in ‘Classic’ victory over Maryvale

Catholic Charities assists in counting Baltimore’s homeless population

| Latest World News |

Basketball sisters take different paths to same journey 40 years later

Catholics call for prayer, justice as video of Memphis Black man’s deadly arrest released

Where in the world is Catholic Mass attendance highest?

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Basketball sisters take different paths to same journey 40 years later
  • Catholic schoolteachers describe what they love about their jobs
  • An open letter to Marie Kondo: Thanks for sparking my joy
  • Catholics call for prayer, justice as video of Memphis Black man’s deadly arrest released
  • Where in the world is Catholic Mass attendance highest?
  • Mercy delivers Magic show in ‘Classic’ victory over Maryvale
  • Former priest Frank Pavone, head of Priests for Life, faces sexual misconduct allegations
  • Analysis: As GOP primary season nears, will pro-lifers embrace Trump or hold out for a new hero?
  • Mission begins by meeting Jesus in the Scriptures and Eucharist, pope says

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED