ALBANY (NY)
Troy Record
By: Record staff report 02/19/2005
ALBANY - Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany said a report issued Friday by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shows that the church has made substantial progress as it addresses problems related to clergy sexual abuse and that the work must continue.
"The bishops of the United States are meeting our solemn commitment to atone for the offenses of the past. Albany and most other U.S. Dioceses have now established victims' assistance programs, review boards to investigate allegations, strict policies to remove clergy who abuse children, transparent public communications policies, and education programs to prevent sexual abuse," Bishop Hubbard said.
Hubbard is a member of the ad hoc committee on sexual abuse, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In December, the Albany Diocese was shown to be in full compliance in 2004 with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) national charter on protecting children from sexual abuse.
Two independent auditors from the Gavin Group in Boston spent three days examining the diocese's response to the charter in November 2004.
The Albany diocese also was found in full compliance during the first year of the auditing program in 2003, according to a release.