When a person who works for the Church has committed sexual misconduct or abuse, or when there is a suspicion of such, whoever learns of it must report it. Pope Francis, in his letter regarding the processing of cases of abuse, has said it is a moral obligation to make such a report. It is a matter of the Church’s credibility; the duty which the pope emphasizes must therefore take precedence over other considerations. Even in cases where there is uncertainty, they must be reported. It is the responsibility of those who assess the case to form a standpoint regarding uncertainty and doubt.
The victim or someone who knows about the abuse may not want to report it to the police, a priest or a bishop. All the Catholic dioceses/prelatures have therefore, each on their own, appointed two people, a man and a woman, who can be contacted. You can find their names and contact information below.
Everyone who learns of a confirmed or alleged case of abuse can talk with one of the contact persons. They are there to listen, and they are bound by professional secrecy, except for passing the information on to the bishop and the council which the bishop has appointed for such matters (the Diocesan Ethics Council, hereafter DEC).
The persons responsible for processing such cases in the Church shall, as much as possible, protect and attend to the needs of the persons involved, especially the one who has been violated. The person who has reported abuse or possible abuse must not be afraid of incurring negative consequences for himself/herself, and he/she cannot be bound to professional secrecy.
Anyone who becomes aware of a case of sexual abuse can contact one of the contact persons listed below.
You contact these persons
The contact persons are there to listen and are responsible for passing the information on to those who will deal further with the case. Anyone who becomes aware of a case of sexual abuse can contact one of the contact persons listed below, and if a priest learns of such a case, he must relay the information to one of the contact persons. The contact persons will then inform the bishop and the DEC of the Catholic Diocese of Oslo.
Contact persons for the Catholic Diocese of Oslo:
P. Erik Ruud
- Telefon: 63 81 93 76 / 47 97 58 92
- Erik.Ruud@katolsk.no
- Kroken 15, 1466 Strømmen
Jorån Heggtveit
- Telefon: 980 63 915
- Joran.Heggtveit@katolsk.no
- Sorgenfrigata 3, 0367 Oslo
Contact persons for the Prelature of Trondheim:
Lena Tande
- Telefon: 72 55 38 35 / 909 78 698
- Lena.Tande@katolsk.no
- Sverresdalsveien 16, 7020 Trondheim
Patrick Kermit
- Telefon: 980 18 017
- Patrick.Kermit@katolsk.no
- Dalhaugveien 19, 7020 Trondheim
Contact persons for the Prelature of Tromsø:
Elisabeth Grenness
- Telefon: 951 44 544
- egrenness@hotmail.com
- Balsfjordgata 35, 9007 Tromsø
Heinrich August Backmann
- Telefon: 970 90 993
- hbackmann@icloud.com
- Skeiddalen 24, 8070 Bodø
The council is comprised of a psychologist/psychiatrist, one cleric, and one lawyer, and it includes both women and men. Oslo and Trondheim have a joint DEC. Tromsø has its own. The DEC, if needs be, can recruit external help.
Then what happens?
The bishop himself, or a designee – most likely the DEC – begins doing careful inquiries into what has happened.
In further treatment of the case, the bishop collaborates with the DEC. The council is comprised of a psychologist/psychiatrist, one cleric, and one lawyer, and it includes both women and men. Oslo and Trondheim have a joint DEC. Tromsø has its own. The DEC, if needs be, can recruit external help.
Further processing will vary according to the nature of each case. Information about this can be found in English in the text “Handling cases of suspected sexual abuse” and directly through the webpages for Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø. Oslo and Trondheim have joint rules dated 20 February 2020, and Tromsø has rules dated 19 March 2021.