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	Abuse-Prevention Lessons Criticized Diocese Lagging on Safety Measure By Judy L. Thomas The Kansas City Star [Missouri] April 26, 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/14428138.htm The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph isn't doing enough to teach sexual-abuse prevention to all Catholic children, an independent audit has found. An annual report on how well the Roman Catholic Church is doing in protecting children from sexual abuse found that 88.5 percent of the participating dioceses recently audited were in full compliance with the church's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Only 11.5 percent of the dioceses — including Kansas City-St. Joseph — were not in full compliance. Diocesan officials said they were working to correct the problem. "Our diocese has made a sincere commitment to take every step and every precaution to ensure that children are safe in church programs," Vicar General Robert Murphy said in a statement. Murphy said that when diocesan officials learned of the auditors' findings, they were told that they could receive a full-compliance rating by implementing a program by the end of 2005, but officials decided to wait. "After careful consideration, we wanted to put more time and effort into evaluating available programs, talking with child-development specialists and selecting the best program to meet the needs of our children," Murphy said. "I've assembled a team of parents, educators, counselors and parish staff members to help us preview programs." The selection process will be completed this spring, he said, and the program will begin in the fall. But critics said Tuesday that the noncompliance rating was disturbing. "They've had four years, and almost every other diocese in America did this long ago," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "What on earth is more important for a scandal-ridden church than to teach kids how to protect themselves, and grown-ups how to spot abuse?" The section of the charter that the local diocese did not comply fully with requires it to establish "safe environment" programs. Under such programs, the dioceses are to educate children and adults on ways to maintain a safe environment and prevent sexual abuse. Dioceses also are to make clear to clergy and community members the standards of conduct for priests and others in positions of trust. Spokeswoman Rebecca Summers said the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese had been fully compliant with the charter in the previous two audits. The problem this time, Summers said, was partly due to a misunderstanding. The charter now requires that children enrolled in vacation Bible school or parish religious education programs — which typically meet one hour a week — receive the same information as children who attend Catholic schools. "We have programs in our Catholic schools, but what they were saying to us was you really do need to have a program for children who attend these programs," Summers said. The diocese has trained more than 8,300 adults about the warning signs of abuse, how to provide safe environments for children and what to do if abuse is suspected, according to Mary Fran Horton, the diocesan safe-environment coordinator. "At nearly every session, parents ask when we will have a program for children," Horton said. "Even though we currently offer programs in our Catholic schools, we want to collaborate with all segments of the community, select a comprehensive program and ensure that all children receive a program that will keep them safe." The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was put in place at the 2002 bishops' convention in response to the sex-abuse scandals that rocked the Roman Catholic Church. The document ordered the Office of Child and Youth Protection to provide annual reports on how well dioceses were implementing the charter. The recent audit was conducted from July 25 through Dec. 31, 2005, by The Gavin Group, an agency consisting of former FBI agents. Of the country's 195 dioceses and eparchies, 191 participated. The bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., and the eparch of the Eparchy of Newton for Melkite Catholics in Newton, Mass., refused to participate, and the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Diocese of Beaumont were excused because of damage suffered in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In a letter to the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, chairwoman of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, said the audit showed that the church had made significant progress toward implementing the structures and policies ordered by the charter. "In just three years, dioceses/eparchies have worked extremely hard to address the issue of clergy sexual abuse," Ewers said, but she noted that the board was disheartened that two dioceses had refused to participate in the audit. Teresa Kettelkamp, executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection, said in a letter to bishops that the 2005 audit reflected "remarkable compliance" with the charter. Kettelkamp added, however, that "we must not forget the 997 new victims who came forward in 2005, with allegations involving 753 priests and nine deacons, or the numerous court cases still pending." "Much has been done, but there is still much to do." Murphy said that under former Bishops John Sullivan and Raymond Boland, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese had many of the policies in place long before the charter required them. "We have a strong public record of involving laypersons in responding to accusations of abuse and making recommendations to the bishop," Murphy said. To reach Judy L. Thomas, call (816) 234-4334 or send e-mail to jthomas@kcstar.com - Benedict Has Been Pope Only a Year but They're Talking Retirement - Vatican Vetter: the Benedict XVI File, in His Own Words: Expert Provides Unique Perspective on Pope's First Year - He Has Two Wives: Catholic Priest Shares His Life with Spouse of Almost 40 Years and Church - Catholic House Democrats Decry "Good Catholic," "Bad Catholic" Labels - Kansas Bishops Release Feeding Tube Directive - Bishop Joins Challenge to Stem-Cell Initiative - Rebuilding Trust: Churches Are Trying to Repair Damage Done by Sexual Misconduct - Asking the Gay Question: Many Seminaries Have Been Screening for Homosexuals for Years - Ex-Priest Predicts Exodus of Gay Clergy from Catholic Church
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