TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
Allegations of sexual misconduct years ago by five priests and one deacon employed by the Tucson Diocese were reported to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for its 2004 audit of the nation's dioceses.
The audit's aim is to determine if bishops are complying with a conference charter requiring allegations of sexual misconduct by clergy to be reported to law enforcement.
Members of the audit team were in Tucson from Dec. 6-9 to interview diocese staff and Tucson Diocese Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas.
The nationwide 2004 report of the bishops' compliance with the conference's new codes of conduct was released Feb. 18.
In it, the Diocese of Tucson was found in compliance with requirements to report credible allegations of sexual misconduct by clergy and to train its lay and clergy employees in recognizing and reporting sexual misconduct.
In 2004, the diocese found that allegations of sexual misconduct against five priests who had been employed by the Tucson Diocese were "credible," meaning they were prosecutable - if the priests were alive.
Posted by kshaw at February 28, 2005 10:53 AM