Diocese of
Lubbock, Texas
The Diocese of Lubbock (“the Diocese”), which was established in 1983, encompasses 25 counties in western Texas. It consists of 34 parishes and 28 missions, 48 diocesan priests, 49 deacons, and two schools and serves a population of 80,742 registered Catholics. The Most Reverend Placido Rodriguez, who was installed in 1994, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of August 11-15, 2003.

The information found herein represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of the audit. Information regarding recommended corrective actions taken by the Diocese subsequent to the audit will be found in the last paragraph.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Diocese established an outreach program in 1992, and a revised policy compliant with the provisions of the Charter was adopted in February 2003. The bishop has offered to meet with any victims/survivors of abuse in the Diocese, but none have reported abuse since June 2002. The victim assistance coordinator is Charlotte Amato, who possesses 20 years of experience in the mental health field. The diocesan review board has been established and consists of nine members with varied and pertinent backgrounds, including six lay persons, two priests, and one woman religious. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form and are published periodically in church bulletins. There have been no confidentiality agreements entered into by the Diocese since June 2002.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
Effective liaison has been established with civil authorities, which ensures that all allegations of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy will be reported, and that cooperation will be extended in any civil investigation. The Diocese has a procedure in place to advise victims/survivors of their right to report allegations of abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities, and the victim assistance coordinator handles this. The Diocese has established a clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests and deacons. There is a communications policy reflecting the bishop’s commitment to be open and transparent on issues regarding the sexual abuse of children and young people.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Diocese has participated in the research study regarding the “nature and scope” of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

To Protect the Faithful in the Future
The Diocese has a professionally prepared and extremely comprehensive safe environment program, for which the Diocese received a Commendation; however, this program does not address the needs of children and youth. A Recommendation was issued for the Diocese to identify a suitable program for that purpose in the near future. The Diocese has publicized standards of conduct for priests and deacons, as well as diocesan employees, volunteers, and any other personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people. The Diocese utilizes local and state law enforcement facilities to conduct background investigations on all diocesan and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors. The Diocese has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse made against him to another ministerial assignment, or for the purpose of residency in another diocese. The bishop has an ongoing dialogue with the provincials and/or superiors of all religious order priests assigned to the Diocese. The Diocese is open to conducting research relating to the sexual abuse of minors, but the opportunities have not been present. Screening and evaluation techniques for the selection of candidates for ordination have been established, and ongoing formation programs exist.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Diocese was issued one Recommendation and one Commendation.

RECOMMENDATION—That the Diocese quickly identify and implement a suitable safe environment program to train children and youth.

COMMENDATION—For the preparation of a comprehensive training syllabus for adults working with children.

As of December 1, 2003, the Recommendation had been addressed. The program Helping to Protect....for Youth: A Short Guide to Boundaries and Self-Protection for Young People has been put in place. Training of children, youth, and parents is planned for completion by the end of May 2004. The Diocese of Lubbock is found to be compliant with the provisions of the Charter, as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 in Section I.


The compliance audit measured activity that has occurred since the adoption of the Charter in June 2002 with the exception of certain mandated actions found in Articles 5 and 14. Actions taken by the diocese/eparchy prior to June 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons are not included in this summary report.




__________________________________

Office of Child and Youth Protection
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
(202) 541-5413 | FAX: (202) 541-5410
Email: ocyp@usccb.org