SCRANTON, PA (November 8, 2018) – The Diocese of Scranton announced today the creation of an Independent Survivors Compensation Program for those who have suffered sexual abuse by clergy, religious or lay employees. Participation in the Program by survivors is entirely voluntary.

The Program will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, two leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. They will have absolute autonomy in determining compensation for survivors, and the Diocese of Scranton will abide by their decisions. Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros are currently managing a number of high-profile compensation programs nationwide, including similar programs started by five Catholic Dioceses in New York. Those programs collectively have provided over $200 million in compensation to more than 1,000 survivors. They have received positive feedback from those who participated.

An Independent Oversight Committee will oversee the implementation and administration of the Program. The Diocese will have no authority over this committee. Compensation decisions are final and cannot be appealed or overturned by the Diocese or the Independent Oversight Committee.

“Providing compensation to these survivors is the right thing to do,” said the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton. “Several weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s Bishops announced support of such a program, which was recently discussed but not enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The Diocese of Scranton is therefore moving forward and is offering this Program for survivors.”

Parish and school assets, as well as contributions and bequests from parishioners and donations to the Diocesan Annual Appeal, will not be used to fund the Program. Rather, the Diocese will use available reserves and will sell assets and borrow money as needed. While the Program will require significant resources, the Diocese will strive to maintain its core mission to serve the local community.

The Diocese continues to refine the Program so that it better serves survivors. Further details concerning the Program will be made available in the near future, including a website for survivors to obtain information and claim forms. The Program is anticipated to launch in January 2019.

His Excellency, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, announces the following appointments, effective as indicated:

Monsignor David L. Tressler, from Superintendent of Schools, effective, November 2, 2018. Monsignor Tressler will continue to serve as Pastor, Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary Parish, Jermyn. 

CHAPLAIN 

Reverend Richard Rojas, from Administrator, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Dushore, to Chaplain, Mercy Center, Dallas, effective November 5, 2018.

RETIREMENT FOR REASONS OF HEALTH

Reverend Leo J. McKernan, from Pastor, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Kingston, to retirement for reasons of health, effective November 12, 2018.

November 2 – All Souls’ Day Mass, Saint Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, 12:10 p.m.

November 4 – #Leave a Mark 18 Mass, Saint Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, 5:00 p.m.

November 9-15 – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Meetings, Baltimore

November 20 – 42nd Annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner Blessing, Scranton Cultural Center, 6:00 p.m.

November 21 – Family to Family Food Basket Blessing, Scranton Cultural Center,  9:00 a.m.

The Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania issued the following statement today:

Since the release of the grand jury report on August 14, we the Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania have reflected deeply on the ugly record of clergy sexual abuse in our Commonwealth, and on times when Church leadership failed to protect our people over a period of decades.

We fully acknowledge that the Church sometimes failed the most vulnerable among us — children and young adults. We deeply regret the suffering of survivors and any decisions that failed to protect them.

As the Pennsylvania General Assembly returns for the fall legislative session, assuring the protection of children and help for survivors of sexual abuse should rightly be one of its top priorities. As various alternatives and programs are proposed, we will support all reasonable and constitutional efforts focused on helping survivors and their families on a path toward healing.

We recognize our responsibility to provide an opportunity for sexual abuse survivors whose cases are time-barred from pursuing civil claims to share their experiences, identify their abusers, and receive compensation to assist their healing and recovery.

To that end, we commit ourselves to creating or participating in an independent, voluntary program that will include a panel of qualified experts to review individual cases and determine financial assistance.  We understand that this compensation program will require substantial fiscal commitment and all dioceses will be seriously impacted. We stress that it is most important for all experts serving on this panel to be independent of the influence of the Church or of any institution in which children may have been abused.

We believe such a program will expedite the process for survivors to present their cases to experienced, compassionate experts who will determine an outcome for each case in a swift, efficient manner. In doing so, the panel will provide a resolution to survivors and allow them to avoid difficult and prolonged litigation. We believe an independent panel is the best option, considering a window or reviver of the statute of limitations will inevitably result in bankruptcy for dioceses. Bankruptcy would cripple the ability of a diocese to provide compensation and healing for survivors, while vastly reducing or eliminating social service programs that greatly benefit all Pennsylvanians by serving some of the most at-risk people in our communities.

We hope that as the program develops it will be open to any youth service organization, private or public, to opt into it to fulfill its obligations to survivors of abuse. We welcome legislative support for such a program.

We cannot undo the harm that childhood sexual abuse has caused, but in humility and repentance we hope the path forward offers a way toward healing for survivors and their families.

September 20 – Confirmation, St. Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Carbondale; and St. John Vianney Parish, Montdale; at St. Rose of Lima Church, Carbondale, 5:00 p.m.

September 21 – Inauguration of Reverend Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., 27th President of the University of Scranton, 11:00 a.m.

September 23 – Mass, 50th Anniversary of Our Lady of Victory Parish, Tannersville, 3:00 p.m.

September 24 – Mass, Diocesan Teachers’ Institute, Our Lady of Fatima Parish at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Wilkes-Barre, 9:00 a.m.

September 26-27 – Provincial Meeting of Pennsylvania Bishops, Harrisburg

September 29 – Mass, Rite of Lector for Permanent Deacon Candidates, Diocesan Pastoral Center, Scranton, 12:10 p.m.

September 30 – Confirmation, St. Vincent DePaul Parish, Milford, 4:00 p.m.

October 1 – Confirmation, St. Luke Parish, Stroudsburg, 5:00 p.m.

October 3 – 150th Anniversary Regional School Mass, Notre Dame System, Our Lady of Victory Church, Tannersville, 9:30 a.m.

October 4 – Confirmation, Annunciation Parish, Hazleton; Queen of Heaven Parish, Hazleton; and Holy Name of Jesus Parish, West Hazleton; at St. Gabriel Church, Hazleton, 5:00 p.m.

October 5 – Red Mass, Diocesan Pastoral Center, Scranton, 12:10 p.m.

October 7 – Respect Life Sunday Mass, St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, 10:00 a.m.

October 9-11 – U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs Meeting, Chicago

 

In his recent letter to the people of God, Pope Francis called on the Catholic community worldwide to acknowledge past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness, and to be involved “in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need. This change calls us to see things as the Lord does, to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience a conversion of heart in his presence.”

In response to the Holy Father’s invitation to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, the Diocese of Scranton is observing a time of Atonement and Healing. As part of this observance, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera will celebrate a Mass on Saturday, September 15, at 12:10 p.m. in the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Scranton.

All are welcome to participate. CTV: Catholic Television will broadcast the Mass live.

Also, to foster a communal expression of this commitment, Bishop Bambera has asked all parishes to consider a 24-hour period beginning the evening of Friday, September 14 – the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. This time of Atonement and Healing will continue throughout the day on Saturday, September 15 – the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. Parishes have been provided with resources to assist in planning for individual, family, parish and Diocesan-level participation.

A letter from Bishop Bambera and resources for this observance can found here: Day of Atonement and Healing

 

His Excellency, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, announces the following appointment, effective as indicated:

ASSISTANT PASTOR 

Reverend Michael S. Drevitch, from Leave of Absence, to Assistant Pastor, Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Honesdale, effective September 1, 2018.

September 6-9 – National Advisory Council Meeting, Baltimore, Md.

September 10-12 – Administrative Committee Meeting, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.

September 13 – Mass of the Holy Spirit, Diocesan Pastoral Center, 12:10 p.m.

September 18 – Confirmation, Saint Boniface and Saint Joseph the Worker Parishes, Saint Boniface Church, Williamsport, 5:00 p.m.

September 20 – Confirmation, Saint Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale, 5:00 p.m.

Bishop Bambera Announces Decision on Status of Bishop Emeritus James C. Timlin

Dear Friends,

The Fortieth Statewide Grand Jury Report released earlier this month shared the tragic details of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over the past seventy years. The report focused not only on abusive priests, but also brought increased attention to the role of those who enabled such abuse to continue. Thus, I took the unprecedented step of asking the Independent Review Board of the Diocese of Scranton to review how Bishop James Timlin handled allegations and his role in all cases prior to the Dallas Charter in 2002. I recently received a recommendation from the Independent Review Board.

As background, the board – comprised of three lay persons, a religious sister and a religious priest – is a confidential consultative body put in place to advise a bishop on the assessment of allegations of abuse. These individuals are highly qualified and equipped to assist me with this decision, as each boasts expertise related to law enforcement, education, counseling or victim advocacy. Their combined experience brings a unique perspective that I simply do not have. Though it is unusual for a sitting bishop to review a prior bishop, I insisted the board use the same process for Bishop Timlin as is used for any accused priest or lay person.

I understand that it is unfair to judge past actions against present day standards. However, I also know that the Church could have – should have – done more to protect our children. We cannot ignore this fact today.

It is with this context that I share my decision around Bishop Timlin. After much thought and with careful consideration of the recommendation from the Independent Review Board, I have decided to permanently restrict Bishop Timlin from representing the Diocese of Scranton at all public events, liturgical or otherwise.

This is the fullest extent that my authority permits me to act relative to another bishop. I have, though, also referred this matter to the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, which has jurisdiction over additional aspects of Bishop Timlin’s ministry. This was not a decision that was taken lightly.

It is important that I make this very clear: Bishop Timlin did not abuse children, nor has he ever been accused of having done so. Instead, he mishandled some cases of abuse. He presided over the Diocese of Scranton for nearly 20 years – a time in which the Diocese fell short of its duty to protect children. And, in many of the cases detailed in the Grand Jury report, Bishop Timlin fell short, too. While he followed the existing rules and policies when handling most of these cases, there was more he could have done to protect children.

Some have asked why I did not restrict Bishop Timlin from publicly representing the Diocese of Scranton sooner, given the information that was shared in the Grand Jury report. Frankly, when I became Bishop in 2010, my concern at the time was not with Bishop Timlin, but on the need to keep predator priests out of ministry and to create environments in which our children would be safe. Bishop Timlin had no administrative role within the Diocese at the time, and had been out of office for seven years by the time of my appointment. Yet, the sobering report of the statewide Grand Jury has shown me that I could have done more in this regard immediately upon my appointment to Bishop. It has also caused me to reflect on my own role in handling allegations of abuse in the Church, too. To those who feel I betrayed their trust in me by allowing Bishop Timlin to continue to minister publicly in the Diocese of Scranton since his retirement, I apologize.

The Grand Jury report has not only compelled me to review the actions of Bishop Timlin but also to consider my role and past actions in protecting children. As many of you know, I have been a priest of the Diocese of Scranton for 35 years. Prior to becoming your Bishop in 2010, I served in numerous parish and administrative assignments. For three years from 1995 to 1998, I served as Vicar for Priests under Bishop Timlin. In that role, I became aware of accusations that were brought against several priests. In those cases, priests were ultimately permanently removed from ministry, in two instances as many as five years before the Charter for the Protection of Youth and Young Adults’ mandate of zero tolerance for credibly accused priests was enacted in the United States.

In 2002, I was appointed to an ad hoc committee to review certain files pertaining to several men who had been accused of abuse. The task of this committee was to make recommendations to the Bishop to ensure that all men credibly accused of abuse were removed from ministry, as mandated by the Charter – not to assess how Bishop Timlin handled cases of abuse. Following this extensive review process, 10 men were removed from ministry.

Following Bishop Timlin’s retirement in 2003, Bishop Joseph Martino led the Diocese and served for nearly seven years before I took office. Bishop Martino also carefully reviewed the Diocese’s response to the Dallas Charter, taking into account both the terms of the Charter and canonical processes.

Since my appointment in 2010, I have been hyper-focused on keeping our children safe, both by ensuring that no credibly accused individual remain in ministry, and also by closely following the Dallas Charter and our own Safe Environment Program. When I took office in 2010, I twice commissioned complete reviews of all Diocesan files – again – to make sure no credibly accused man was in ministry. I have also twice revised our policies and procedures to make necessary improvements along the way.

I can tell you with full confidence that, since I became your Bishop, every single allegation of abuse has been reported to civil authorities and Pennsylvania Child Line. Every credibly accused priest has been removed from ministry. And the public has been notified of every priest removed from ministry as a result of an allegation of abuse.

Based on a thorough review of the Grand Jury report, we have found that 93 percent of the abuse detailed in the report occurred before 2000, showing what we already know to be true: reforms in the United States – and our prevention efforts – are working as the occurrences of abuse have been drastically reduced over the last two decades.

Despite these vigilant efforts, we know there is more work to be done, and we must constantly review and update our policies and procedures. The Grand Jury report has caused me – and many of my peers – to look at past events, decisions and decision makers through a different prism.

After thoughtful reflection and prayers, I recognize that there have been times when I, too, could have done better. I ask for your forgiveness in these instances and promise you now – I will continue to do all that is in my power to ensure the safety of our youth moving forward. That has and always will be my priority as Bishop.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
Saint Gregory Parish – August 26, 2018
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – B

This is the second week in a row that many of you have had to listen to me at the time of the homily. This week, I’m privileged to join with you as you break ground for a much-needed extension of your Church. Last week, my presence should not have been necessary, but, sadly, it was (referring to his video message shown at all Masses in the Diocese). I’d ask for just another moment to share a few more thoughts.

As the reality of the Grand Jury report starts to settle in, most of our feelings have become even more complicated and conflicted. To say that this is a difficult time is an understatement. It surely is a painful time for victims, many of whom have had to struggle in the shadows for years and are now only finally having their experiences validated – even as they relive the nightmare of abuse. It’s a painful time for their families, and for each of you who make up our Church community. While words can be so empty at times, I would again like to offer my sincere apologies to our entire community – and especially the victims. None of you deserves to be confronted with the behavior described in this report.

Yet, however difficult, we must face this tragic reality and learn from the past as we move forward and help victims heal. While most of the cases described in the report date back decades, we must continue to improve our child protection policies and procedures to ensure that we provide a safe environment for all of our children and youth here in the Diocese of Scranton. There simply is no place in a civilized world for the abuse of children – and certainly not within the Church.

I will continue to do all that I can to ensure the safety and well-being of our children and to lead a Church that once again enables you to trust, to have hope and to find peace. Today’s Mass and the groundbreaking that follows reminds us that as hard as it is to move forward, we can – be we can also never forget. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address that issue once again.

Today’s Gospel passage could not be more appropriate as we attempt to move forward through these challenging days. Many of Jesus’ followers were having a difficult time understanding his teaching about the Eucharist and its roots in the cross – the suffering and death that Jesus would inevitably face. … And a lot of his followers walked away.

In the face of that exodus, Jesus turned to his closest followers – the twelve apostles – and asked a sobering question: “What about you? Do you also want to leave?” To which Peter responds with his well-known confession of faith, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

That’s a pretty timely and relevant question for us, isn’t it? … In the midst of some unbelievable things with which we’ve been confronted these past two weeks, what about you? Do you also want to leave?

People leave the Church for all sorts of reasons. They leave because of changes that have taken place over the years – because of personal encounters that have been hurtful or misunderstood – and I have no doubt that many will leave because of what we’ve had to face here in the Diocese of Scranton and in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

But you are here today – for any number of reasons, I suppose. Perhaps not for every one of you, but for some of you, I am certain, your response to the question of Jesus in today’s Gospel likely echoes that of Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” For all of its human limitations and shortcomings, we see the Church as the place where we have encountered God and through which God has touched our lives.

Perhaps the question that Jesus really prompts us to address today is less whether we’re going to leave and much more this query, “Why do you stay?” … Why do you or any of us stay with the Church in the midst of all that you’ve had to face during these past weeks.

Chances are that the answer to that question starts with what you see as you look around this church. We see a family of believers, don’t we? And in as much as some of the members of that family can prompt us to want to run away at times, that same family contains the key to why any of us stay. … We stay because of a daughter or a grandson who was just baptized and who teach us through their innocence about the boundless love of God. … We stay because of selfless neighbors who set aside their own comfort to serve the poorest and those who struggle the most in our communities. … We stay because of that unique individual whom we so admire who has been given the grace to look beyond obvious hurt and pain to forgive. … We stay because we sense deep within our hearts that there’s more to this world than we can see and touch and understand, and this Church, for all of its imperfections, opens the door to that which is holy! … And we stay because we believe that somehow, through the power of God, we connect with that which is holy through the sacramental life of the Church.

Why do you stay?

I’ve thought a lot about this question over the past few weeks. One of the reasons I stay is rooted in something that a great aunt of mine taught me around the time I was ordained a priest, 35 years ago, when she was well into her 80s. She’d given birth to three children. Two died before they were 5 years of age – one because of a sickness and the other in a tragic house fire. Her third and only remaining son lived into his 60s and died suddenly in front of her on New Year’s Eve. For all of her loss, she embraced life well and with a great deal of enthusiasm and hope. One time, not long before her passing, I asked her how she managed to be so upbeat, given all of the loss that she endured throughout her life. Here’s what she said, “Nobody will ever know the volume of tears that I shed, but I believe with all my heart that there’s nothing we can’t endure if we have faith.”

For me, I stay because my faith is nurtured in this Church community, no matter how tarnished it has become. … What about you? … Why do you stay? … Why are we breaking ground today to expand this worship site? … “Why do you stay?” … I suspect that somewhere in the midst of however we answer this question, we’ll find something that has to do with faith – and the belief that for as imperfect as the members of the Church may be – especially its leaders – God has given us the grace to discover within this community signs of his life, his mercy, his love, and a reason to hope – the surest and the only things that will give us lasting peace.

For me – and hopefully for you – those are pretty good reasons to stay!