BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
November 20, 2005
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and BishopAccountability.org, a national group that collects documents pertaining to the clergy sexual-abuse scandal, yesterday criticized as ''toothless" a deal reached by US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston on Friday. The agreement will require intensive scrutiny of local priests who seek to work as federal chaplains and mandate that the archdiocese publicly report assessments of its child protection programs. But Ann Hagan Webb, cocoordinator of SNAP, said the agreement, which spares the Catholic Church a federal criminal indictment, fails to hold the church accountable, allows the church control of its own audits, and thus, too much leeway. Anne Barrett Doyle, codirector of the Internet group, added that a criminal trial and indictments would have provided a greater sense of security for children.