Lay review board tackling church’s abuse crisis

Catholic New World staff writer Michelle Martin talks with Appellate Court Justice Anne M. Burke, a member of the U.S. bishops’ national lay review board for clerical sexual abuse.

When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was looking for people to serve on the national Lay Review Board for the clerical sexual abuse crisis in June 2002, it didn’t take long to find Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne M. Burke. Burke, 59, has a long track record working with and advocating for children, including teaching physical education to mentally disabled children for the Chicago Park District and founding Chicago Special Olympics 35 years ago.

She and her husband, Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke, are the parents of four, grandparents of one and active foster parents. A graduate of Maria High School, DePaul University and Chicago-Kent College of Law, she is an active member of St. Simon the Apostle Parish on the South Side.

 

The Catholic New World: What do you see as the role for the Lay Review Board?

Anne M. Burke: The board was created by the bishops to delegate some of their authority in the face of the crisis of the sex scandal. I think the Charter (for the Protection of Children and Young People, approved by the bishops in June 2002) and the thought of having a lay review board was a seedling in the eyes of some bishops some time ago. The crisis brought them to the realization that they needed to do something pretty drastic.

The whole point is to make environments safe for children in each of the 195 U.S. dioceses. … Because of the decline of the trust of the hierarchy of the church, I think what was in their minds was that they needed some accountability to the lay people.

Under the charter, we (the board members) are mandated to do certain things, a lot of which we have already done: We ran a national search for someone to head up the Office for Child and Youth Protection, and we hired an executive director, Kathleen McChesney, and two of her staff. (Another) was to immediately design the audit—a mandate under the charter—for all bishops, dioceses and eparchies to be audited by the Office for Child and Youth Protection.

What do they mean by “audit”? It comes from what the bishops want under the charter. They want safe environments for children, and to do that, they had to institute certain things, such as the lay review board and policies and procedures, what needs to be done step-by-step when there’s an allegation of sex abuse perpetrated on a minor. And then they also had to think about past allegations, what they needed to do in terms of training (diocesan) staff.

The audit is going to come into each diocese, interview people, look at their policies, look at the ways in which they implemented those policies. It isn’t just believing what they tell you; it’s corroborating what they told you … and … seeking those people who were involved in certain allegations to find out if they actually were working as they say.

 

TCNW: What teeth does it have if you find out it’s not working?

AMB: Moral authority and the press. It’s one thing to say you haven’t complied. In the real world, the reputation of the Catholic Church has been severely damaged in the United States because of this crisis. And it isn’t so much, I believe, because of the sex abuse—that is something that is amongst many populations in the United States. It’s … because of the way it’s been handled. And the trust has been diminished. And the authority that we have is one of moral authority. … Those eparchies and dioceses that aren’t affirmatively trying in earnest to have safe environments for children or to participate in the audit or to participate in other commissioned studies will be revealed to the laity, to which they are responsible.

 

TCNW: Why did they ask you to serve on the board?

AMB: I consider myself a very active, good Catholic, an average person, but I haven’t really been involved in the Catholic Church in terms of organizations and things like that. My background, working with children my whole life, probably was the key. One of the bishops’ conference staff people knew me and had my resume. From the early ’60s, I had been an advocate for children, and that’s probably what they liked about me.

 

TCNW: And why did you say yes?

AMB: Ignorance is bliss. I kept up to the degree that the average person did, who wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on in the church in terms of the sex abuse crisis over the years. Many people were really on point with reading Father Andrew Greeley and what he’s been saying since the ’80s. I’m a friend of Father Greeley’s, so I knew he was interested in that, but I wasn’t really following it. … I got a call … before (the bishops) voted on the charter (asking if I would) accept a call from Bishop (Wilton) Gregory to be on a board they’re putting together. (Bishop Gregory) told me (Oklahoma) Gov. (Frank) Keating had already accepted, and Bob Bennett had already accepted, and I said, well, if they’ve already accepted … failing to ask, how long is this going to take, how much time? … I hadn’t read the charter. Ignorance is bliss.

But it was the best of all worlds. … Dr. Michael Bland (also of the Archdiocese of Chicago) was appointed in the next couple of days, so the first thing we had to do was, “Well, … who chooses the rest of this board?” And they said, “Well, you do it.” We met in Oklahoma and (came) up with names, getting resumes, vetting them. We wanted no more than 15 people; the bishops wanted 25. The bishops wanted maybe some clergy; we said this is a lay board, no clergy. We submitted 15 names to the bishops and the rest is history. There are 13 of us.

 

TCNW: How did your faith life influence your professional life up until now?

AMB: It’s a part of me. That’s who I am. It’s morality, ethics, making decisions on how to present yourself, on dealing with other people, as a lawyer and before that as a teacher, as a mentor for people, trying to be involved in the community … The Catholic Church taught you about commitment to your community and all those other things.

 

TCNW: How has serving on this board affected your faith life?

AMB: I have more resolve and I have more faith in the Catholic Church than I had before. It’s probably because I know the Catholic Church will survive in spite of all of us, … because the Catholic Church has been in crisis many, many times. … Some crises have been greater, perhaps, and it has always survived. Each time there is a crisis, something good comes out of it; that’s better for the Catholic Church and the faithful.

 

TCNW: How have the bishops responded so far?

AMB: The bishops have worked well with us. Mind you, they’ve never had lay people at this level involved with them. It’s a learning process, especially in being audited. I don’t even think the pope comes in and asks a bishop how many perpetrators do you have, how many victims do you have and how much money have you spent? We are asking that. They asked us to ask that. Getting back to the question about moral authority, it will be very clear for whatever reason those who are working with us and those who aren’t.

 

TCNW: So when this report comes out, I would be able to look and see what diocese has done X, Y and Z?

AMB: The audit will show that, and the audit will be an ongoing thing. It’s not a negative. It’s to let each bishop know, “You have done this piece well, You have a lay board together, you have the beginnings of a good safe-environment program, but then on the other hand, here are some things you can do that a diocese in Texas is doing.” … That’s what every audit is about. It’s helping them do better next time around.

 

TCNW: From what you’ve described, you’re putting a lot of time into this.

AMB: Absolutely. I was on two conference calls already this morning. It’s a lot of work. We didn’t know what it was going to be. As we progressed through this, it became very clear to us that had we known, or had anybody known, the nature and depth of the work, I don’t think anybody would have said yes. God works in very strange ways. He wanted professional people who understood how to move forward to make sure it got done. But none of us has time in our lives because we have other positions. It’s all worked out fine—they come to all the meetings, they’re on all the teleconference calls, they’re involved interviewing all these people. These people are used to structuring their lives to get things done.

Our commitment is to the lay people of the United States, and that’s what I think we came to understand. That’s not what I thought in the beginning. We’re in essence a subcommittee of the bishop’s conference. … As it turns out we’re the only voice of the laity there, and it’s a powerful position. Everyone has taken it extremely seriously, and we have to do it. Otherwise, the laity won’t have a voice.