MANCHESTER (NH)
Concord Monitor
By DANIEL BARRICK
Monitor staff
March 23. 2005 8:00AM
A judge has dismissed a claim by the Catholic Diocese of Manchester that a complete, in-depth audit of its sexual abuse protection polices violated its First Amendment rights.
Judge Carol Ann Conboy of Hillsborough County Superior Court ruled yesterday that the attorney general's office was not overextending its authority by demanding that its audit include a check of how well the church's child protection policies are working. Such a "performance audit,"Conboy concluded, falls within the outlines of an agreement reached between the church and state more than two years ago.
"In short, the court does not conclude that the proposed audit threatens the church's First Amendment rights, due process rights, or any other federal or state constitutional rights," Conboy wrote in a 14-page ruling.
The ruling also ordered that the $445,000 cost of the audit be split equally between the diocese and the state.