GREEN BAY (WI)
Appleton Post-Crescent
By Jean Peerenboom
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
GREEN BAY — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay recorded a third consecutive year of compliance with national standards for keeping children safe in 2005.
At the same time, the church revealed that it received 783 more complaints of sex abuse by clergy nationwide.
Green Bay's on-site audit was requested by Bishop David Zubik, who is in Rome this week, and a diocesan spokesman said the voluntary step was evidence of local efforts to keep children safe.
"He didn't have to do that," said Tony Kuick, director of communications. "We could have just done the paperwork."
The two independent auditors were former FBI agents from The Gavin Group, an independent, nonchurch organization based in Winthrop, Mass., Kuick said. The group has been auditing dioceses across the country for the past three years.