National standards met, it says; critics object strongly

10:28 PM MST on Saturday, February 19, 2005

By Stephanie Innes / ARIZONA DAILY STAR

A report released Friday listed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson as one of a majority of dioceses in the country complying with national standards on the handling and prevention of sexual abuse by clergy.

The report, based on an audit conducted in 2004, praised the local diocese for hiring Paul Duckro to oversee child-abuse prevention for the diocese, which stretches over nine counties and includes 350,000 Catholics. The audit also said the diocese has established "clear and well-publicized standards of ministerial behavior for priests and deacons."

The national report, released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection, immediately was criticized by a national group that represents victims of clergy abuse.

Members of the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said the bishops had too much control over the compliance audit, which was conducted by the Gavin Group of Boston.

"They wrote the charter, they hired their own so-called watchdogs, they decide who gets interviewed and who gets heard," a prepared statement from the group said. "We owe it to innocent children and vulnerable adults to insist on hard evidence and solid data before determining progress is being made."

The audit measured compliance with the Conference of Catholic Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The charter was adopted by U.S. bishops in 2002, and compliance audits were ordered by the National Review Board - 13 appointed lay Catholics.

An audit of the Tucson diocese completed in 2003 also found it was complying with the charter.

The latest audit focused on record-keeping related to programs and protocol for victim outreach, and for reporting allegations and the creation of safe environments for children at parishes and schools.

Since the crisis involving sexual abuse of children by priests erupted in the Catholic Church locally and nationally in 2002, the local diocese has a new application process for all prospective employees and volunteers for parishes and schools. Each parish and school must have a compliance plan in place by June.

The diocese, which filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sept. 20 in the face of 22 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by priests, also has made public a list of 30 priests, two deacons and one nun with credible allegations of abuse against them.

The diocese created the list in 2002, after reaching a $14 million settlement with 10 men who said they were abused by four local clergy members during the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

A deadline for filing claims of clergy abuse that occurred before the bankruptcy has been set for April 15, as part of the bankruptcy reorganization plan. To date, nearly 50 claims have been filed.

At a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, officials with the Conference of Catholic Bishops said 1,092 new allegations of sexual abuse were made against 756 Catholic priests across the country in 2004. Officials also said costs relating to the Catholic sex abuse crisis in 2004 alone have exceeded $157 million nationwide.

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