USCCB
'Charter' Implementation Annual Report
March 30, 2006

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Click here for Annual Compliance Report & CARA Survey Findings
Click here for John Jay College 'Nature and Scope' Study Supplement

 

Diocese of St. Cloud Results:
In December, 2005, the Diocese of St. Cloud received written confirmation from the Gavin Group, Inc. that the diocese had been found in compliance with all articles of the Charter for The Protection of Children and Young People. Gavin Group auditors personally commended the Diocese of St. Cloud for its safe environment training efforts, and the diocese's complete online posting of policies, documents and statements associated with sexual misconduct, the Charter, and protecting children and young people.

Copyright © 2006 Diocese of St. Cloud

NATIONAL 'CHARTER' COMPLIANCE AUDIT - BACKGROUND:

Purpose of the Annual Report:
According to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People which the Catholic Bishops first adopted at their meeting in Dallas in June 2002 and revised and renewed at their June meeting in Chicago in 2005, the Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP), established by the bishops, is to produce “an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards” in the “Charter.” This public report is to include the names of those dioceses/eparchies which the audit shows are not in compliance with the provisions of the Charter.

This is the third Charter implementation report. The first report, for 2003, was issued January 6, 2004. The second, for 2004, was issued on February 18, 2005. The third has been issued March 30, 2006. Compliance audits were conducted to provide the necessary data for developing the Annual Report.

National Compliance Audit Results:
• 191 dioceses/eparchies participated or 98 percent the 195 dioceses/eparchies in the U.S.
• 2 dioceses were excused due to hurricane damage
• 2 refused to participate.
• 169 or 89% of participating dioceses were found to be in full compliance with the Charter.
• 22 or about 12% were found not to be compliant with one or more articles. 21 of these were found not to be compliant with Article 12 on safe environment training. 4 of the 21 and one other were found not compliant with Article 13 on background checks. One eparchy was non-compliant with Articles 1 on outreach and reconciliation, Article 2 on response and reporting, and Article 7 on communications as well as with Articles 12 and 13.

Auditing Firm:
The firm conducting the audits was Gavin Group, Inc., Winthrop, Massachusetts. This firm conducted the first two audits and is headed by Mr. William (Bill) Gavin, a former FBI official with nearly 30 years experience at the Bureau. Mr. Gavin has conducted high profile investigations himself and was able to recruit and train other experienced investigators for the audits.

Method of the Audit:
Unlike the first two audits which were on on-site audits of all participating diocese/eparchies, the 2005 audit had three formats:

1) Full on-site audits were conducted only with those dioceses/eparchies found not to have been compliant with the provisions of the Charter as of December 31, 2004; those not audited in 2004; and those requesting a full audit. There were 26 full on-site audits scheduled and 24 were conducted. Nineteen full on-site audits were requested. Seven were mandated, and five of these were conducted.

2) Self-Reporting audits were conducted for those dioceses/eparchies determined to have been fully compliant with all aspects of the Charter during the 2004 compliance audit. They completed a 13-page Audit Instrument developed by the Gavin Group which was submitted to an auditor who reviewed them for completeness and consistency with prior audit materials. The auditor clarified any omissions or inconsistencies and resolved them by telephone and/or by e-mail. The Gavin Group reserved the right to schedule and conduct a focused on-site audit if any issues were not resolved satisfactorily, but only one was necessary. There were 104 self-reporting audits.

3) Focused on-site audits were conducted with those dioceses/eparchies that received “required actions” during the 2004 compliance audit. (One or more “required actions” were received if there was incomplete implementation of a particular article of the Charter.) Also receiving a focused on-site audit were those diocese/eparchies that had not begun to implement the provisions of Article 12 (safe environment programs) and/or Article 13 (background evaluations). Dioceses/eparchies that had selected and scheduled safe environment programs for children by the end of the 2004 audit but which had not significantly implemented that training also received on-site focused audits. There were 63 focused audits.

The National Review Board Role:
The National Review Board (NRB) has an audit committee. As specified in the Charter, the NRB is to review the annual report and any recommendations that emerge from it and offer its own assessment regarding its approval and publication to the Conference President.

The Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People:
The Committee, which is now a standing committee and no longer an ad hoc committee, is made up of a chairman, Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin and 14 bishops, one from each of the 14 regions into which the membership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is divided regionally. Beginning with the next audit cycle, it is this Committee’s role to recommend to the USCCB Administrative Committee the method and scope of the audit.

The CARA Survey Results — Section II of the March 30, 2006 Charter Implementation Report
The U.S. bishops voted in November 2004 to establish a data collection procedure whereby dioceses and eparchies would report annually information regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons and costs associated with the abuse during the previous year.

The Report for 2005 shows the following:

Findings — Victims and Offenders:
• 783 credible allegations of sexual abuse by clerics against minors were reported in 2005, down from the 1,092 allegations reported in 2004.
• 9 allegations, or one percent, involved children under the age of 18 in 2005.
• Nearly 87 percent of the remaining 774 new allegations involve abuse that occurred before the 1990s, with most of the abuse occurring or beginning between 1960 and 1979.
• Reporting these allegations were 777 victims (down from 1,083 in 2004).
• Five hundred thirty-two clergy (463 diocesan and 69 religious institute) were accused (down from 756 in 2004).
• Approximately 82 percent of these clergy were already out of ministry:
• 418 (374 diocesan clergy and 44 religious institute clergy) are deceased, already removed from ministry, already dismissed from the clerical state, or without a known address and another 20 (18 diocesan clergy and 2 religious institute clergy) were permanently removed from ministry in 2005.
• Fifty-seven (44 diocesan clergy and 13 religious institute clergy) were temporarily removed from ministry in 2005.
• Twelve (all diocesan clergy) were returned to ministry in 2005.
• Fourteen (13 diocesan clergy and one religious institute cleric) identified in 2005 were still in active ministry pending investigation of an allegation.
• Fourteen diocesan and 3 religious institute clergy with allegation prior to 2005 were also described as still active pending investigation.
• Of the 532 clergy accused in 2005, over 61 percent had already been identified in prior allegations. Thirty-four percent of the diocesan/eparchial clergy and 65 percent of the religious institute clergy accused in 2005 had no prior allegations.
• Ten percent of the allegations against diocesan/eparchial clergy and 13 percent against religious institute clergy have been determined to be unsubstantiated.

Copyright © 2006 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops