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	Archdiocese Sets New Rules in Sex Abuse Cases By Margaret Ramirez Chicago Tribune February 21, 2007 http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/site/premium/access-registered.intercept Prompted by criticism surrounding the case of Rev. Daniel McCormack, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Wednesday that it has overhauled rules related to sexual abuse of children, including immediately removing any accused priest, reporting allegations to civil authorities and training church employees and volunteers. Officials also said they are considering whether they should encourage men who have engaged in sexual misconduct to resign from the priesthood and acknowledged that procedures for supervising accused priests still need work. The changes were detailed in a report prepared by law enforcement officials, judges and child welfare advocates serving on a nine-member advisory committee appointed by Cardinal Francis George after the arrest of McCormack, former pastor of St. Agatha Parish in Chicago. McCormack was charged in January 2006 with abusing five boys at St. Agatha and Our Lady of the Westside School. But two audits by outside consultants later found a trail of abuse allegations dating to 1988 that the archdiocese had failed to investigate properly. They also found that although a priest had been assigned to monitor McCormack at St. Agatha, McCormack still had contact with children. In response to those audits, the advisory committee was asked to evaluate the archdiocese's response and make further recommendations. Chancellor Jimmy Lago, who oversees the handling of sexual abuse allegations for the archdiocese, said the most important change is that when an allegation of current abuse is received, the priest will be removed from ministry right away instead of being monitored while officials investigate. "We're not going to think about it, we're not going to consider it, we're not going to evaluate the quality of the allegation," Lago said. "We're going to take action immediately." According to the advisory committee's report, the archdiocese has completed more than 59,000 criminal background checks and more than 56,000 employees and volunteers have completed mandatory training. In addition, 185 parishes have indicated compliance with a child education program known as "Child Lures," and 200,000 children and young people have received this training. The archdiocese also said it has hired Womazetta Jones, a former child protection training manager for the state Department of Children and Family Services, as director of "safe environment training." Jones will coordinate training on child sexual abuse laws and notification procedures for priests, teachers and other archdiocese employees. Lago said more work is needed on procedures for monitoring priests who have been removed from ministry. More than a dozen live at a Mundelein retreat center, and the earlier audits blasted the archdiocese's monitoring as little more than an honor system. The advisory committee's report said the procedures remain "far from perfect" but exceed what is required of registered sex offenders under state law. The panel recommended that the archdiocese encourage younger priests under monitoring to resign voluntarily from the priesthood and that "ways should be found to enforce more restrictive living conditions for those who will not resign." "This is still some unfinished business that we need to take care of," Lago said. David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, expressed frustration with the report, saying no archdiocese officials had been disciplined in connection with the McCormack scandal. "The report clearly says all personnel must be accountable for noncompliance," he said. "Well, the sad truth is that never happens." maramirez@tribune.com
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