Report Tulsa Diocese out of Compliance with Plan, KJRH, March 17, 2009

Report: Tulsa Diocese out of Compliance with Plan

KJRH
March 17, 2009

http://www.kjrh.com/news/state/story/Report-Tulsa-diocese-out-of-compliance-with-plan/swOou7UTT06LR4qKP528xA.cspx

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Diocese of Tulsa has corrected problems with a plan aimed at preventing child abuse that had caused it to be out of compliance with a national program, an official says.

The Tulsa diocese was one of four in the country that didn't meet standards set by U.S. Catholic bishops in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in 2001, according to a new report.

Deacon John Johnson, chancellor of the Diocese of Tulsa, said the diocese fell just short of compliance in training children to avoid being abused. Some educators, particularly in rural areas, were reluctant to discuss with young children the difference between proper and improper touching, Johnson said.

As a result, the percentage of children trained was in the low 90s, he said, just short of the percentage required for compliance.

Johnson said Bishop Edward J. Slattery has provided training for the children in the form of a CD and the diocese is now in compliance.

The bishops' report, released last week, was based on audits from July 1, 2007, to June 30.

It found that four dioceses, including Tulsa, had not satisfied "safe environment" requirements to provide training about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children.

The report said the other three dioceses had come into compliance by the end of 2008. Seven other dioceses/eparchies refused to be audited and are considered to be not in compliance.

Besides training children, the safe environment part of the program requires training for clergy members, staff members and volunteers who work with children.

According to the report, it is difficult to achieve compliance in the safe environment program. Extensive lists of staff members and volunteers, statistics on who has been trained, and databases of background evaluations are required, the report said.

Barbara Blaine, founder and president of the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests, called the Tulsa diocese's non-compliance shameful.

"This inexcusable violation needlessly puts innocent kids in harm's way," she said.