Jacksonville, Fla. – In May 2019, Pope Francis released an apostolic letter entitled, Vos estis lux mundi – You are the light of the world, to address the issue of sexual abuse and bishop accountability in the global Catholic Church. Vos estis calls upon the metropolitan archbishops to undertake the responsibilities for receiving and assessing reports involving bishops that pertain to sexual abuse and related misconduct. In June 2019, the bishops of the United States convened for their general assembly in Baltimore and approved the implementation plan for carrying out the directives of the Holy Father here in the United States.
As part of this ongoing commitment to carrying out Vos estis, the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service (CBAR) was established. The service is operated by Convercent, Inc., an independent, third-party entity that provides intake services to private institutions for reports of sensitive topics such as sexual harassment through a secure, confidential, and professional platform. Individuals may go to www.ReportBishopAbuse.org to make a report. Complaints can also be reported by calling (800) 276-1562.
In Florida, the Metropolitan Archbishop, in coordination with the Bishops of Florida, has identified a qualified lay professional to receive reports of misconduct by bishops, and to initially assess the claims.
The metropolitan is Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami. He presides over the Province of Miami, which includes the Diocese of St. Augustine and five other dioceses. If the report involves Archbishop Wenski, then the report will be forwarded to Bishop Gerald Barbarito of the
Diocese of Palm Beach as the senior bishop of Florida.
The Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting service allows for individuals to relay to church authorities any reports of a U.S. Catholic bishop who has:
• Forced someone to perform or to submit to sexual acts through violence, threat, or abuse of authority.
• Performed sexual acts with a minor or a vulnerable person.
• Produced, exhibited, possessed, or distributed child pornography, or recruited or induced a minor or
a vulnerable person to participate in pornographic exhibitions.
• Or, a diocesan bishop, or a cleric overseeing a diocese/eparchy in the absence of a diocesan or eparchial bishop, who has intentionally interfered with a civil or church investigation into allegations of sexual abuse committed by another cleric or religious.
The Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service does not replace existing reporting systems for complaints against priests, deacons, religious or laity. CBAR was designed to respond only to complaints against bishops for issues related to sexual misconduct.
To report claims of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult by clergy, religious brothers and sisters, seminarians, or laypersons working or volunteering for the Diocese of St. Augustine, call law enforcement
or the Department of Children and Families at 1-800-ABUSE, or the diocesan victim assistance coordinator at (904) 208-6979.
While the mandate by Pope Francis in Vos estis echoes many of the practices that the Catholic Church in the United States implemented in 2002 with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, this new order applies to the bishops and the worldwide Catholic Church, making clear the pope’s concern of the issue of sexual abuse in the church at a global level.
To learn more about CBAR – the U.S. bishop’s third-party hotline, visit https://safe.dosafl.com/reporting-abuse or email Kathleen Bagg at kbagg@dosafl.com.