U.S. bishops to review 2004 sex abuse audit plan in June

Published: 2004-04-08

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When they meet this spring, the U.S. bishops will review a plan for the 2004 audit of their dioceses' policies and practices on sexual abuse and child protection, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, deputy director of the bishops' media relations office, told Catholic News Service April 7, "In June the bishops will be presented with a plan for the Office of Child and Youth Protection to do its annual report this year based on an audit." She addressed the issue following a report that morning in The Washington Post saying the USCCB Administrative Committee, meeting in March, had decided to "postpone any decision on audits until the next regular business meeting" of the nation's bishops in November. Such a postponement would make it impossible to complete a second round of audits of nearly 200 dioceses in 2004. The first round took about five months in 2003, with teams of auditors visiting about 10 dioceses a week from June to late October or early November.

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