Programs for sex abuse victims learning by experience

Published: 2004-09-16

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In 1996 when Michael Bland started organizing informal meetings of U.S. diocesan officials involved in outreach programs to clergy sex abuse victims, eight people showed up. At the 2004 meeting this summer, 125 people attended, which reflects the growth in outreach programs since the U.S. bishops approved the 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." Despite the growth, outreach programs are still a work in progress as such programs are new to most dioceses and the needs of victims are as varied as the personalities of those affected. "There is no fixed format for helping victims. You need to enter the process where they're at," said Bland, a victim of clergy sex abuse who has come full circle. Bland, a clinical therapist, is an ex-Servite priest who is now treating victims. He is also a member of the bishops' National Review Board, which monitors church compliance with child sex abuse policies.

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