Volunteer Work Areas

This pages details our approach, basic information for criminal and civil law, and basic information about Religious Orders and Diocesan priests.

We Organize Our Efforts In the Following Way:

Category	Activities Bold = areas of focus
Healing And Justice	Healing Dependent on Funding from Diocese "Boston Proposal" ($10mm, center, etc.) Diocesan therapy reimbursement (push for unlimited) No Dependent NOT on -RCAB $ Survivors' Appealo Donations to individual gruops Not Dependent on $ Stand in support/witness at Cathedral/demos Speaking opportunities/ Combine with Survivors Appeal Email/message boards (ensure IT support) Extra support for survivor and family in depositions and in court Advocates to walk survivors/s to lawyers; RCAB Support Groups Survivor Kits Justice Grand Jury information Support How to work with civil plaintiff lawyers
Public Education	Keep issue on front page (protests, letters to editors, etc.) Priest Database / Clergy Abuse Disclosure Project Ensure laity are awake
Prevention	Diocesan prevention programs Legislative Reform

Potential Changes in MA Laws

Criminal - impact criminal prosecutions

Civil - impact civil claims

Top Priorities
SNAP Press: eliminate statute (causes lawsuits, followed by press, leads to exposure)

The Basics of Criminal and Civil Laws

A. Criminal Charges - brought by a District Attorney ('the State" or "the people") indicted, arrested, possible outcomes:
1. Guilty via plea bargain or guilty verdict by jury (and no appeal court action) Conviction can be appealed immediately.
   
2. Not guilty (by jury) or dismissed by judge/DA (e.g. outside statue of limitations)

B. Civil Suits -- brought by survivors lawsuit filed for monetary damages (compensation and punitive); possible outcomes:

1. settlement (before jury trial )
   
2. Verdict determines whether there is an award after the trial process. or jury award, may include
   
3. case dismissed (e.g. outside statute),. or dismissed by jury decision after the trial process.
   

Basics of Priests and Orders

Diocesan Priests and Deacons are combined with Religious Order Priests and Brothers in the Priest database for a number of reasons.

• 1/3 of parish priests are from orders
  
• most parishioners, parents and victims do not know the difference
  
• simplifies the list for searching, updating, keeping one file, makes it easier.
  
• while Bishops do not have authority of them directly, the Bishops do have some influence
  

Roman Catholic Priests, Called Diocesan Priests
• Report to US Bishops, who report to Vatican
• Trained at Roman Catholic seminary
• Carry the title of Father or Reverend
• US Bishops and the Vatican have oversight and discipline responsibility

Orders
Report to regional superiors in the U.S., usually called 'provincials "in US, who report to the superior general of the entire Order or congregation who in turn reports to the Vatican. Do not report to US Bishops in matters of internal discipline but do report to bishops in all matters pertaining to the external apostolate (e.g., parishes, schools, hospitals)

Can be Brother or Priest (e.g. Jesuit Priest)
Order Priests carry the title of Father and can carry out full sacramental ministries
Religious order priests work in dioceses in a variety of ways. They can be on "loan" to a bishop and work in administration, special ministry, parish ministry. They may also work in apostolates that are directed by the order itself such as colleges, hospitals, and schools.
Trained at seminaries run by the order and not at diocesan seminaries
Religious orders are divided up into geographic provinces which usually cross State lines. The head is called a "provincial superior." He is the equivalent of a bishop in matters of authority over the priests in the province although he is not a bishop. In most orders provincials as well as local superiors are elected for specific time periods.

Dozens of orders exist, examples include Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines, Vincentians, Norbertines, Legionnaires of Christ, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

(Note that Eastern Rite priests and bishops are included in this analysis).

Common Questions

1. What about nuns?
   Nuns and other types of religious women are set up similarly to religious priests and have a similar set up of superiors as well as relationships to the local bishop
   
2. Will laity (choir directors, lay teachers at Boston College, be on the payroll of both US bishops and Orders?
   This depends on whom they work for. If they work for a religious order then the order pays them and if they work for a diocesan establishment but the priests are religious then the establishment pays them. Most pay checks do not come directly from the bishop's office but from the institution itself (e.g., parish, hospital, school).
   
3. Is the proper question for the US Sexual Abuse scandal: US Bishop Accountability and US order Accountability (but both fall into Vatican Accountability)?
   Yes. The responsibility is primarily with the bishops and for religious its with bishops and religious superiors
   
4. Does monk=brother?
   That is, are all monks, brothers, and all brothers, monks? Monks are members of monastic orders such as the Benedictines, Carthusians, Trappists. Monk is a generic term used to describe all members of the order, priests and brothers alike. Members of the mendicant orders (Dominican, Franciscan) and not properly called monks but "friars" or brothers. The major difference is that the monks always are assigned to one monastery for life while the friars are moved or transferred around on a regular basis.
   

Representative list of Orders

Priests, Brothers


Benedictine
Brothers of the Sacret Heart
Capuchin Francisan
Claretian, CMF
Christian Brothers
Dominican
Holy Cross
Jesuit (Society of Jesus)
Pervuian
Piarist
Redemptorist
Salesian
Servite
Stigmatine Fathers (Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata)


Nuns


Marian (Marianites of Holy Cross)
Adrian Dominican