ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union
REV KENNETH DOYLE
Chancellor
Diocese of Albany
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany recently signed an agreement with the 14 district attorneys addressing how allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors are handled. For nearly 10 years, the diocese has followed a standard protocol when handling sexual abuse allegations, based on the recommendations of the DAs and an independent task force of experts. The new memorandum of understanding updates the protocol based on the collective experience of the last decade.
Much of the Times Union’s March 6 editorial on the topic (“Not the last word on sexual abuse”) was wrong, even though the newspaper had or easily could have had accurate information.
Here are the facts:
It has been and will continue to be our policy to immediately notify the appropriate district attorney of any allegation regarding sexual or physical abuse of a minor by a member of the clergy or employee of the diocese, regardless of when such an act was committed.
It has been and will continue to be our policy to fully cooperate with the DA and to defer our investigation until the DA’s investigation is done.
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