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	Diocese Lags in Blocking Abuse Detroit Among 13 Not Following Rules Regarding Child Exploitation, U.S. Bishops Group Audit Shows By Gregg Krupa The Detroit News [Detroit MI] March 31, 2006 http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20060331/LIFESTYLE04/603310369/1003/METRO The Archdiocese of Detroit is one of only 13 Catholic dioceses in the nation out of compliance with a new rule to train and educate children, youths, parents, priests, ministers and educators in the prevention of sexual abuse of children. An audit by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops released Thursday determined that 88.5 percent of 191 dioceses or eparchies -- the Eastern Orthodox equivalent of a diocese -- are in compliance with the training mandate, adopted by the bishops in 2002. Ned McGrath, director of the Department of Communication for the Archdiocese, said a factor in the lack of compliance is the archdiocese thought it had three years from when it developed a program to complete all training. In fact, it was required to complete training by Dec. 31, 2005. "It took about six months for us to figure out how we are going to do this, to train 30,000 people," McGrath said. "So we kept track from the time when we actually got started." In the wake of years of scandal over sexual abuse by priests, the council of bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Article 12 of the charter requires that dioceses "will make clear to clergy and all members of the community the standards of conduct for clergy and other persons in positions of trust with regard to sexual abuse." The dioceses are required to cooperate with parents, civil authorities, educators and community organizations "to provide education and training … about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children." The Archdiocese of Detroit released a statement Thursday saying that since 2003, it has conducted 394 workshops for 21,920 parish and school volunteers. By November, according to the Archdiocese, "45 more workshops will have trained an additional 6,330, making the archdiocese in full compliance on this particular requirement." The council of bishops, however, required that the clock began to run with the adoption of the charter, in Dallas in 2002. "Those who have participated will tell you that our program is very well-organized and delivered," said Msgr. Riccardo Bass, the diocesan delegate for clergy matters. "But in an archdiocese as large as ours, spread across six counties, logistics is a huge challenge." Local advocates for victims of sexual abuse by priests said that the finding by the national council of bishops shows that the archdiocese remains lax in its response to cases of sexual abuse years after they became the subject of intense national scrutiny. "I'm not surprised by it," said Bill McAlary, a local member of the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "This is the general attitude of the archdiocese and that is the way they have approached this," McAlary said. "They have a lackadaisical approach towards helping victims. This is an extension of the massive cover-up of this abusive situation that has been going on for centuries." McGrath disputed McAlary's assertions, citing the fact that the Archdiocese is now in compliance with all other aspects of the bishop's charter. "We always have to be vigilant," McGrath said. "We always have to be trying to do better. But to characterize our effort as lax, that shows a total lack of understanding in terms of what we've been doing." Among the dioceses not in compliance is the Archdiocese of Boston, where a significant portion of the pederasty scandals occurred. McGrath urged anyone with a complaint about sexual abuse to call the Victim Assistance Coordinator at (866) 343-8055. McGrath said none of the 10 complaints reported to the archdiocese in 2005 were new allegations. All involved allegations that were previously processed. In 2004, 15 complaints came in and all of them were forwarded to civil authorities. Most involved priests are dead or have left the ministry. Three cases were processed. You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
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