Diocese updates auditors

An independent team of auditors visited the Albany Diocese last week to evaluate its compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

As called for in the Charter, which was passed by the U.S. bishops in June 2002, auditors are checking the policies and performance of each of the 195 dioceses in the U.S.

Two auditors from the Gavin Group in Boston (a firm headed by former FBI employee William Gavin) were in the Albany Diocese Sept. 22-24.

"There are no greater priorities in the Albany Diocese than protecting children and young people from sexual abuse, and comforting victims and survivors," said Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, who voted for the Charter and was among the first bishops to implement it.

"Full, faithful compliance with the Charter is the policy of the Albany Diocese. We see the audit as an opportunity for a useful, objective progress report on our efforts thus far. We are looking for opportunities continuously to improve our performance and will accept any recommendations the auditors may make in that spirit."

Audit process

The audits are being done under the auspices of the National Review Board, a lay group established by the U.S. bishops to monitor compliance with the Charter.

"One of the things we are trying to do [through the audits] is continue in the spirit of transparency," said Pamela Hayes, an attorney who is a member of the National Review Board.

The audits of the nation's 195 dioceses, which began a few months ago, are expected to be completed within a few weeks. The results will be sent to Kathleen McChesney, who heads the U.S. bishops' Office for Child and Youth Protection. That office is expected to issue a public report on all of the audits in January.

Visit to Albany

The two auditors who visited the Albany Diocese met with Bishop Hubbard, diocesan officials and victims of abuse. They were provided with the Diocese's policy on sexual abuse by clergy, articles about the abuse crisis that have appeared in The Evangelist, and local radio and print advertisements urging victims to contact the Diocese.

They also heard details about Virtus, the program being used by the Diocese to educate thousands of employees and volunteers in the prevention of child sexual abuse. The auditors also conducted an exit interview with Bishop Hubbard.

Reports coming

As with the audits of other dioceses throughout the nation, the auditors did not issue any report on their findings in the Albany Diocese. All of the reports are expected to be made public in January.

In accordance with national protocols to wait until the comprehensive report of the auditors is issued, Albany diocesan officials will not release details about the audit until early in 2004.

Since the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was passed by the bishops 16 months ago, the Albany Diocese has:

* published a comprehensive policy for creating safe environments for children and adults, and for receiving, investigating and acting upon allegations of sexual abuse; the Diocese has had a sexual misconduct policy since 1993, and it was revised in 2002 to match the Charter;

* expanded the diocesan sexual misconduct review board, created in 1993, to review the abuse complaints and findings of investigations conducted by the diocesan investigator, and to recommend action against abusers; the board is made up primarily of lay experts not employed by the Diocese;

* removed from public ministry seven priests, placed three others on administrative leave and granted voluntary leaves to three priests while allegations against them are investigated, and announced those decisions publicly;

* hired a victims/survivors advocate to provide counseling and direction;

* appointed a retired senior investigator with the New York State Police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse; allegations within the statute of limitations are referred to local criminal authorities, while claims about older incidents are investigated by him;

* begun the Virtus training program in recognition and prevention of child abuse for thousands of diocesan/parish/school employees and volunteers who work with children (as of this week, approximately 2,000 people have been trained);

* reached out to victims/survivors through radio and newspaper advertising to let them know their options;

* begun background checks on diocesan employees and volunteers who work with children; and

* established a toll-free information telephone number (800-931-6058) and expanded the diocesan website (www.rcda.org) to make information more readily available to Catholics specifically and to the public at large.

(Contributing to this article was Kate Blain, assistant editor.)

(10/2/03) [[In-content Ad]]