An Important Message from Fr. Graham

Dec 17, 2018

December 17, 2018

To Members of the Xavier University Campus Community,

This afternoon, Rev. Brian Paulson, S.J., Provincial Superior of the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, joined other Jesuit provinces in releasing the names of all current and former Jesuits connected to our Province with established allegations of sexual abuse of any minor as of 1955 or later. You may read the full statement here. It includes the names of some Jesuits connected to Xavier that I would like to draw to your attention.

• Fr. Edward J. O’Brien, S.J. was at Xavier in the 1960’s, 70’s and early 80’s. He died in 1983 and the first established allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse of a minor, were made in 1990. Three former students have reported.
• Br. Jerome Pryor, S.J. was at Xavier between 1974 and 2002 and the first established allegations of sexual improprieties with students, but none with minors, surfaced around 2002. A total of four reports have been received concerning Br. Pryor. Br. Pryor was removed from Xavier in 2002 and placed in secure housing at a Jesuit healthcare facility where he is under supervised care and does not leave without supervision.
• Fr. Donald O. Nastold, S.J. was at Xavier in Campus Ministry from 1979 to 1985 and served as Pastor of Bellarmine Chapel, a parish of the Archdiocese, from 1982 until 1991. Fr. Nastold died in 2007. While no reports have been received related to his work on our campus, there is one established allegation involving a minor that was reported after his death and which occurred in Cincinnati while he served at another Jesuit apostolate.
• Fr. Mark A. Finan, S.J. was on the faculty at Xavier from 1956 until 1958. Fr. Finan died in 1993. While no reports have been received related to his work on our campus, there are established allegations involving minors that occurred in Cincinnati while he served at another Jesuit apostolate.
• The Maryland Province just recently released a list of names of Jesuits with established allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor, and one of those Jesuits, Fr. Louis Bonacci, S.J. worked at Xavier in Campus Ministry from 1994 to 1999.  However, we have no records of receiving any report related to his work on our campus.  Fr. Bonacci was permanently removed from ministry by the Maryland Province in June 2011.

I write to share this important information because I believe and pray it’s a critical step toward healing. Beginning last summer and continuing into the fall, all of us, Catholic or not, were shocked, outraged and deeply saddened by fresh revelations of clerical sexual abuse and of the equally scandalous actions of Church officials to conceal these always sinful and often criminal activities. Victims and their families deserve complete transparency. That is why in addition to informing you, our faculty and staff, about Fr. Paulson’s statement, I have written a letter to all Xavier alumni to share the same information. Now that the list of names is available, the alumni letter has been finalized and will be emailed, to those we can reach that way, and sent via U.S. Mail to all alums. It will be in mailboxes in January.

I also share in that letter, and now with you, how both the Province and Xavier handle allegations of sexual abuse and the steps we take to prevent it.

The Province’s current response protocols go back ultimately to 2002 when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) held a meeting in Dallas to address the scandals that had come out of Boston. The end product of that meeting is what is commonly referred to as the “Dallas Charter” but formally is titled “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The Dallas Charter sought to “repair the breach” of those damaged at the hands of the Church and created a roadmap of policies, procedures and best practices. The Dallas Charter can be found at the USCCB website.

The Jesuits adopted the Dallas Charter and have faithfully followed the lead it set. Actions undertaken include: a review of all personnel files by former FBI employees and providing reports to local law enforcement where evidence of what could be crimes was discovered; background checks on all members of the Society of Jesus, new and old; mandatory annual prevention trainings; and annual compliance reviews by an independent third party, Praesidium, Inc., which specializes in these matters.  The Province website encourages reporting to law enforcement if anyone has reason to believe a crime has been committed and provides nation-wide information about where to report. In Cincinnati, the agency to report crimes to is the Hamilton County Prosecutor at 513-946-3050.

It is noteworthy that there have been no established allegations of abuse of minors by Jesuits occurring after our adoption of the Dallas Charter in 2002. However, I want you to know that the Province and Xavier encourage anyone to report clergy abuse regardless of when it may have occurred.  If anyone has a report or is otherwise in need of support or counsel, one option is to contact the Office of Safe Environment at the Province: phone: 773-975-6363; email: UMISafeMinistry@jesuits.org.

On campus, policies and procedures addressing sexual abuse/harassment are globally applied to all Xavier employees, including clergy who work here. While such acts have always been formally addressed, in 2006 Xavier faculty and administration came together to create the Harassment Code and Accountability Procedures which unequivocally prohibits sexual harassment of any type. It also describes how to report and sets out procedures if a report is made.

In 2011 all policies concerning sexual harassment involving students’ actions were refined taking into account clarifications in Federal Law. In 2012 Xavier opened an anonymous hotline (855-481-6238) for persons to report any concerns. Hotline reports go to the Board of Trustees’ Audit and Risk Management Committee. In 2013, the Office of Title IX Coordinator, staffed by Kate Lawson, was established to create initiatives to educate students, prevent instances of sexual harassment, and respond to reports.  (Kate Lawson can be contacted via email at lawsonk1@xavier.edu or by calling 513-745-3046.)

These initiatives and actions are intended to send a clear message from top leadership that sexual harassment and abuse will not be tolerated at Xavier; that no one should be afraid to report; that reporting is actually encouraged; and that when matters are reported there will be investigations and accountability.

Going forward, the entire Xavier community is committed to do more. Our next step in this journey, in accord with the expectations of Pope Francis, as paraphrased by The Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J. is: “…to look to the future and to deepen our understanding of the causes of these wounds, to recognize our participation by action or omission in causing them, and to find ways to bring about changes in the social structures that provoke them... and to orient our apostolic action toward bringing about a culture, within and outside the Church, capable of ensuring that situations of abuse are not repeated and that a healthy life is guaranteed to all human beings.”

As we at Xavier look at social structures in general or in the University specifically, we will do so with a renewed resolve of taking action both inside and outside the University designed to live up to the expectations of Pope Francis and Father General Sosa.

As always, you and those you love remain in my daily prayers.

Cordially,
Michael Graham, S.J.
President, Xavier University