In the years that have passed since 2002, when clergy sex abuse first emerged as a national crisis in the Church, the U.S. bishops and the dioceses that they lead have steadfastly sought to implement policies and programs aimed at creating safe environments in which children and young adults could be protected.

Armed with the Bishop’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, dioceses have developed expansive efforts -- training clergy, staff and volunteers about child abuse and what protective measures were required to prevent it; conducting background checks to ensure that no known pedophiles had access to children through our parishes and our schools, and teaching children how best to keep themselves safe from those who might want to harm them.

Now, more than five years out, nearly 5.7 million minors nationwide have already had one or more years of safe environment education, and 1.8 million adults have undergone criminal background screening and training on appropriate relationships with youth in their care. Dioceses have implemented the most thorough policies known to any organization anywhere in order to ensure that anyone with a complaint of sexual abuse by a representative of the Church knows how to report that abuse and that the handling of any complaint follows the strictest of protocols.

These impressive numbers reflect the extraordinary commitment that the Church has made to protect children in its care. The statistics serve to frame the message … “We will do everything humanly possible to live up to our obligation to keep children safe.”

The question is: “Are people listening to this message?”

A far less impressive statistic has been reported in a recent survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which found that only 17 percent of those individuals who identified themselves as active Catholics knew what actions the Catholic Church has taken to address the clergy sexual abuse crisis. When asked what the Church should do, they provided suggestions which mirror what is already being done.

Why should we care about this? Lots of reasons. And none of them have anything to do with the Church taking credit for herself, or seeking to avoid the responsibility it has in this matter.

Practically speaking, there are a number of compelling reasons to work toward greater public awareness of the Church’s child protection efforts. First and foremost, would-be offenders would come to identify the Church and its institutions as places where security is tight and access to children is carefully monitored. They are less likely to attempt to reach children through the Church. Then there is the empowerment that this information gives a victim who has not been able to come forward out of fear that no one will believe his or her story.

From a spiritual standpoint, the Church cannot fully heal if its own people do not know what has been done to keep children safe. The reconciliation that is needed can only come when people acknowledge that the Church is indeed living up to its Promise to Protect.

Globally, the Church’s efforts to create safe environments need to become more widely known because they can serve as a valuable model for other organizations. Even as the Church does all that it can to protect children, we all recognize the reality that children are only in church or in a Catholic school during some parts of their lives. Any question that may ever have existed about how widespread child sexual abuse is disappeared when a study conducted by Hofstra University uncovered the horrifying reality that the incidence of child sexual abuse in public schools dwarfs anything experienced in the Church. Until the example of the Church’s child protection efforts, or one that is equally comprehensive and rigorous, is adopted and implemented in other institutions and organizations, such as public schools, children will continue to be at risk.

With the goal of developing better communication and awareness about the Church’s efforts to prevent abuse, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, under the auspices of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People convened a group of safe environment coordinators, victim assistance coordinators and communication directors. The fruit of that effort -- a campaign that coincided with National Child Abuse Prevention Month -- was then developed by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection and underwritten by the Catholic Communication Campaign.

The Diocese of Trenton joins many dioceses across the nation in observing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month; calling attention to the ongoing commitment that drives the Church to do all it can to maintain safe environments for children and youth. During this month, The Monitor will run a special series on the Church’s campaign: “Keeping Our Promise to Protect,” and our parishes and schools will be provided with liturgical and educational pieces to share with their communities. Later in the month, the diocese will roll out its redesigned web page on the “Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal”, featuring the history of the issue, the documents that have framed this major focus for the Church, and all the policies and procedures put in place to safeguard children.

We hope that every member of the diocese will become familiar with this information so that together we can bring about positive changes that will protect children in every community and walk of life.