DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
February 2, 2006
Iowa's four Catholic bishops agreed to meet today with the state's most vocal groups advocating for victims of clergy abuse.
It is believed to be the first time since the U.S. Catholic child sexual abuse scandal exploded in 2002 that a state's entire Catholic hierarchy committed to such a meeting.
Archbishop Jerome Hanus of Dubuque, Bishop Joseph Charron of Des Moines, Davenport Bishop William Franklin and Sioux City Bishop R. Walker Nickless agreed Monday to meet with representatives of Iowa Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Catholics for Spiritual Healing of Grand Mound, and Concerned Catholics of the Davenport Diocese.
However, Nickless' mother, E. Margaret Nickless, 77, died Wednesday, causing him to return to Denver, Colo., for her funeral. He will be represented at the meeting by Monsignor Roger J. Augustine, who served as diocesan administrator for two years until the Vatican appointed Nickless.