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	Catholic Church Abuse Policies Need Work By Albert McKeon Nashua Telegraph May 5, 2007 http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070505/NEWS01/205050330/-1/news Concord – Despite significant progress by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester to protect minors from sexual abuse, church officials still have to address critical policy gaps and the commitment of a senior priest, the state attorney general said Friday. The second independent audit of the diocese’s sexual misconduct policies found that the Rev. Edward Arsenault, who serves as the diocesan point man on reporting and preventing abuse, has a lack of “acceptance or commitment,” Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said. This “tone at the top” – including Arsenault’s “word games” – troubles prosecutors, Ayotte said. But Ayotte said she’s hopeful the diocese will address this and two other critical concerns. In addition, Ayotte hopes the diocese will agree to two more annual audits by 2009. In a clear sign that some stark differences still remain between church and state, Arsenault said at a later press conference that the diocese would only commit to further reviews though Dec. 31. Arsenault, the diocesan chancellor, also said he is very much dedicated to complying with the state’s requirements for the handling and prevention of sexual misconduct. He said the independent auditor based its decision on only one meeting where agreed-upon protocols weren’t followed and tension ensued. At a press conference held shortly after Ayotte’s briefing, Arsenault touted the diocese’s efforts over the past year. Overall, the results of the second audit demonstrate the diocese has met the standards of its review board and of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, and also the expectations of the state, Arsenault said. “We are all in this together, and we are in this for the long haul,” Arsenault said. No priest who has faced even one credible accusation of abuse currently serves in ministry, Arsenault said. The diocese has also trained 15,000 adults who work or volunteer for the church on how to report and prevent abuse, and 26,000 children have received instruction on personal safety, he said. Assistant Attorney General Wil Delker said one allegation of clergy sexual abuse has been made in the past year. Prosecutors and church officials declined to discuss the matter,but Delker said the priest is no longer active in ministry. Ayotte commended diocesan officials for correcting substantial deficiencies in their sexual misconduct policies during the past year. Those problems included a failure to complete criminal background checks on people who work with children, discrepancies in reporting abuse to the state, and poor oversight of parishes. The diocese dedicated additional resources to correct those shortcomings and has taken a “positive step” toward fulfilling the promises of the 2002 criminal plea agreement between church and state, she said. In that landmark accord, Bishop John McCormack agreed to overhaul the diocese’s policies in the face of numerous complaints of sexual abuse against children at the hands of priests. Then-attorney general Philip McLaughlin, in turn, dropped his pursuit of criminal charges against church leaders for not protecting children from abusive priests. For the second straight year, McCormack didn’t address the media on the findings of the independent audit firm KPMG and the attorney general’s subsequent suggestions. McCormack couldn’t attend because he was meeting with retired priests and discussing a new diocesan magazine, Arsenault said. Despite praising church officials for their progress, Ayotte pointed to two deficiencies – aside from Arsenault’s perceived attitude toward auditor. The diocese still has a policy where McCormack first determines whether an allegation is truthful before removing the alleged offender from contact with minors, Ayotte said. The agreement between church and state doesn’t allow the bishop to make a preliminary determination before taking action, she said. This policy hasn’t been applied practically, but it is still problematic on paper, she said. Arsenault replied that diocesan officials have forwarded to law enforcement every complaint of sexual misconduct they have received. But he also said some reports of abuse are “spurious” and that some people – presumably the accusers – “have been disturbed.” It would be unfair to remove clergy or diocesan personnel from duty based on false allegations, he said. The other policy deficiency highlighted by Ayotte centers on record keeping. The diocese falls short in the handling of its records and relies heavily on the self-reporting of parishes, schools and camps in the screening of employees and volunteers, she said. But Brian Quirk, an attorney who represents the diocese and was once a state prosecutor, responded to Ayotte that church officials don’t rely solely on reports from these outside sources. The diocese uses other measures, including criminal record checks, to verify people have been screened and trained, Quirk wrote in a letter to Ayotte. It remains to be seen if church and state can agree on how many audits will follow this most recent review. The criminal plea agreement called for five independent reviews by the end of 2007. But the first audit was delayed for two years when the two sides couldn’t agree on terms and brought the matter to court. A judge sided with the state’s interpretation of the review process, and the two sides agreed to reduce the number of audits to four. Ayotte said the agreement calls for annual audits, which means two more can’t be performed by the end of this year. Because the diocese caused the initial delay, it should agree to two more reviews by 2009, she said. Arsenault, though, said the diocese would gladly comply with two more audits but only by year’s end. The attorney general’s office could ultimately claim the diocese breached the criminal agreement over this dispute and could resume its pursuit of endangerment charges against church leaders. But Ayotte said if legal action is eventually required, she believes it would first be a civil move to have the church comply with the audits over a two-year span. Albert McKeon can be reached at 594-5832 or amckeon@nashuatelegraph.com
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