Bishops' committee, review board agree on sex abuse audit procedures

Published: 2004-05-18

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse and the National Review Board have agreed on proposals for conducting a second diocesan audit of child sex abuse prevention policies and on doing a study of the causes and context of the crisis. The proposals will be discussed by the U.S. bishops during their June 14-19 meeting in Denver, said Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington. The agreement was reached May 17 at a meeting in Chicago of 10 members of the National Review Board and eight members of the bishops' ad hoc committee, she said May 18. Sister Walsh said that the ad hoc committee and the review board are also working on a joint list of people to replace four board members who have announced that they will be retiring at the end of June. The bishops are planning to begin their meeting earlier on June 14 than planned so as to have more time to discuss the clergy sex abuse issues, said Sister Walsh.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .