The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is continuing to put safeguards in place related to the prevention of and response to sexual abuse.
Bishop David Zubik has appointed four staff members to the new Secretariat for the Protection of Children, Youth and Vulnerable Adults which goes into effect on Monday, April 1.
All four staff members currently hold leadership positions within the administration of the diocese, in some cases doing the same work they will continue in their new positions. A secretariat is the highest structure of government within the diocese and works directly with the bishop.
“This new secretariat guarantees that the concerns of victims and our efforts to prevent abuse will be considered at every top-level meeting of diocesan leadership,” Bishop Zubik said. “People who once responded to child sexual abuse in different departments will now work together, and their collaboration will further strengthen efforts that have been vigorous for many years. We will also add new services to assist victim-survivors in spiritual recovery and to keep our communities safe.”
The head of the new secretariat will be Jane Sarra. She has a clinical background, including an early career as a nurse practitioner, and has served in various executive healthcare leadership positions locally and nationally. A major focus of her work has been developing effective compliance training and educational programs, which involved working with government investigations and law enforcement officials. She joined the Diocese in 2016 as the director of mission integration.
Bishop Zubik also plans to hire a law enforcement professional to lead the new Office for Investigations and Monitoring to conduct inquiries into allegations that would not fall under law enforcement responsibility. This is expected to take place by Sept. 1.
These moves by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh are in response to a Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report released in 2018 documenting decades of child sexual abuse by priests, some of which worked in Butler County.
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