Limited child protection audits find most dioceses in compliance

Published: 2007-04-11

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Twenty-seven of 29 Catholic dioceses and eparchies audited in 2006 complied with the church's national standards for child protection programs and the prevention of and response to sexual abuse, says a report released April 11. However, four dioceses that were not found in compliance in 2005 refused to participate in the 2006 audit. "The overall results of the 2006 audit are encouraging," said Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, chairwoman of the bishops' all-lay National Review Board. But she described the refusal of four dioceses to participate as "discouraging news." Two -- the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., and the Melkite Eparchy of Newton, Mass. -- had refused to participate in the 2005 audits as well and were supposed to undergo full audits. The Diocese of Baker, Ore., and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark (N.J.) for Syriacs refused partial audits that would have focused on those areas where they did not meet compliance standards in 2005. "It is most unfortunate," Ewers said, "that the bishops and eparchs of these dioceses/eparchies are unwilling to participate in the one measure of public scrutiny that assures the Catholic lay faithful that the church is taking every means possible to reach out to those who have been harmed by individuals in the service of the church and to promote the safety and well-being of the children entrusted to its care."

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