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	Ayotte: Diocese Must Do More to Protect Children By Sarah Shemkus The Union Leader June 17, 2006 http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Ayotte%3A+Diocese+must+do+ more+to+protect+children&articleId=24aba1b8-71ac-4a3e-9133-0d364700dce5 Nashua – The Diocese of Manchester has significant work to do toward safeguarding children of its parishes against the possibility of abuse, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte told a meeting of Catholic laypeople last night. Though a recent audit revealed that the diocese has made significant positive changes to its policy and procedures, said Ayotte, much improvement is still needed. "There were some things with this audit that were positive," said the attorney general, speaking in a crowded basement room at Milette Manor nursing home in Nashua. "The downside is that we still have more work to do — we are far, far from done." Ayotte's appearance was organized by the greater Nashua chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic group dedicated to increasing the participation and influence of the laity in determining the direction of the church. "There is a great big cloud over this whole thing," said Bill McPherson, chairman of the Nashua group. "There is no transparency, and we need to make sure of that children are going to be protected. This is still a body of Christ; there are just some individuals who have had terrible judgment." In 2002, the attorney general's office agreed not to prosecute the diocese for alleged incidents of sexual abuse of children on the condition that the church would submit, over the course of four years, to a comprehensive, independent inspection of their system of accountability, oversight, transparency and training. After years of legal wrangling, the first audit was done by consulting firm KPMG in summer 2005. The results, released in March 2006, concluded that the diocese had made strides in training personnel in abuse prevention policies and practices. However the report also noted that the diocese has failed to take on sufficient responsibility for ensuring individual parishes' compliance with abuse prevention guidelines. In addition, no adequate system had been created for verifying that policies have been followed. Following KPMG's report, Ayotte issued a letter to Bishop John McCormack outlining the consultants' conclusions and requiring the church's leadership to submit, within 30 days, a plan for remedying deficiencies. "We did receive a detailed response from the diocese leadership," Ayotte said yesterday. "We were encouraged by it." Among the positive steps outlined in the diocese's response was the appointment of a coordinator who will oversee compliance for parishes across the state. The letter also included a detailed list of actions the church intends to take and a timeline for their execution. The attorney general's office intends to meet with diocese representatives and review the letter to ensure that the outlined plan represents progress. "We want to understand the changes and make sure they're permanent and sustainable," Ayotte said. The second round of the audit is being organized, Ayotte said. A survey of parishioners and church personnel is planned for this summer to determine how well the diocese's policies are understood. "It's really important for us to understand what the perceptions are," said Will Delker, senior assistant attorney general, who helped create the initial agreement with the diocese. "It really will help us focus the resources in those areas that need improvement." While Ayotte expressed hope that cooperation with the church on this issue would be fruitful, members of the audience remained doubtful. One woman spoke angrily of her frustrated attempts to have her own story of abuse heard. "There is a tremendous frustration and cynicism that (the diocese) will be open," added another woman, Anne Pullen, the chair of New Hampshire Voice of the Faithful. "I know from experience that that isn't true."
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