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	Audit: Rockville Centre Diocese Falls Short in Volunteer Checks By Bart Jones Newsday March 7, 2008 http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-licath0307,0,5301317.story For the first time, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has failed a review by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of its adherence to the church's Charter for the Protection of Children. The charter was drawn following the sex abuse scandal that involved scores of Catholic priests nationwide. It is aimed at preventing further abuse through such mechanisms as background checks on church workers and volunteers, and mandatory reporting of suspected abuse to civil authorities. The local diocese said it passed virtually every aspect of the conference's 13-article audit with one exception. One of the five parishes surveyed did not take sufficient action to train church volunteers in "safe environments," said diocesan spokesman Sean Dolan, who declined to name the parish. "This was one article and one parish, and it does not adequately characterize the hard work and dedication by the overwhelming majority of parishes and schools in the diocese and the diocese itself," Dolan said. Teresa Kettelkamp, who headed the review for the conference, said auditors found the diocese did not have documentation showing that 2,300 of the diocese's estimated 64,000 volunteers underwent the training. That did not necessarily mean the volunteers had not done the training, she added, saying that in general she believes the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Bishop William Murphy are doing a good job of implementing the charter. "I think they are doing a great job," Kettelkamp said, adding that she expected the shortcomings to be rectified shortly. Others greeted the noncompliance finding with alarm. "I'm not surprised that the Rockville Centre diocese didn't make the grade," said children's advocate Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law and the Crime Victims Center in Stony Brook. "Even if they had received their certification, I would question its value ... The Catholic Church has demonstrated that they cannot be relied upon to police themselves." Nationwide, 12 dioceses out of 190 surveyed were found not to be in compliance, said Kettelkamp, who heads the conference's office of Child and Youth Protection. She added that Rockville Centre was one of only nine dioceses to take part in a pilot program to allow auditors to go into parishes extensively. She said the conference asked Murphy to participate, and he agreed. Rockville Centre was found to be in compliance the past four years, Dolan said. He noted that 35,000 church workers have attended "Virtus" safe environment training sessions, while 64,000 have undergone background checks. The bishops are to release a report on the audits today. Dolan said the diocese received an early copy of its results. The latest finding will prompt the diocese to "redouble efforts to make sure all parishes are implementing all articles of the charter," he said.
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