Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has announced that the Diocese of Brooklyn has established a 24-hour toll-free telephone number for persons to call if they wish to report that as children they were sexually abused by a member of the diocesan clergy.

            The phone line---(888) 634-4499---became operational Aug. 6.

            Calls will be received by an attorney in private practice whom the Bishop has invited to be the initial contact for persons seeking to report incidents of inappropriate behavior.  Until now, a diocesan official received the allegation.

            If John M. Kurkemelis, the attorney, is not immediately available to take the call, he will respond to a voicemail message as soon as he is able, said Bishop DiMarzio, in outlining the new procedure.

            The Bishop said Mr. Kurkemelis will report the clergy abuse of a minor to the District Attorney of Kings or Queens, depending on where it took place, and will advise the caller to do the same. For the past two years, this has been the procedure followed by the Diocese.

            The attorney will also inform Bishop DiMarzio or Msgr. Otto L. Garcia, the Vicar General, whom the Bishop has chosen to represent him in his absence, as well as the diocesan Victims Assistance Coordinator, Sister Ellen Patricia Finn, O.P.

              “Making a call on a painful subject such as this can be extremely stressful and emotionally difficult,” said Msgr. Garcia. “It is the Bishop’s hope that setting up an around-the-clock toll-free number and having a lay person not employed by the Diocese as the first contact will help to ease the anxiety of the person placing the call.”

The Vicar General said he was confident that callers would feel comfortable speaking with Mr. Kurkemelis due to “his personal sensitivity and his experience in dealing with people on a human level” in matters pertaining to social service and family law.

            Msgr. Garcia said a 2003 revision of diocesan procedures on reporting clergy sexual abuse, originally written in l987, will be amended to reflect the new initiative.

08/06/04