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  Catholic Churches Address Sexual Abuse

KGET [Bakersfield CA]
April 19, 2005

BAKERSFIELD - Even as the Catholic Church maintains a conservative course, there is a new movement within the church in the United States to address the sex abuse scandals that shocked people in recent years.

Under the leadership of Pope John Paul II, the church was criticized for the long list of priests accused of molestation. But recently by orders from the Vatican, the church is facing the issue and other sexual matters.

Children and adults are being trained in what has been a taboo topic for centuries.

Johanna Cisneros, a Catholic and prevention specialist from the Alliance Against Family Violence has been visiting several Catholic churches this year, teaching children and teenagers how to avoid becoming victims of sex crimes and abuse.

"Probably one of the main things that I'm hoping to accomplish is that children protect themselves and say, 'No, I don't deserve to be treated like this and no, I do not like this,’" said Cisneros. Cisneros said she teaches abuse prevention in an age-appropriate manner.

Junior high age students learn about sexual harassment while high school students are taught about date rape and dating violence.

"Most churches are extremely conservative, and you would think a Catholic church might be really conservative, but they recognize that child sexual abuse is an issue and they're stepping up," said Cisneros. "They're the first church that's ever done this."

At St. Francis Church in Bakersfield, Father Craig Harrison said he’s proud the Catholic Church is being proactive on the matter.

"Anyone at all who works with children in any capacity had to go through training, awareness, creating a safe environment, and then now we've taken it to the next level, which is taking it to the parents and the children themselves," said Harrison.

Harrison said the orders for the classes came straight from the Vatican in response to sexual scandals with priests over the past several years, but they also address sexual abuse at all levels.

The Catholic Church is also training all employees in a supervisorial position about sexual harassment, but those seminars are actually mandated by California.