DIOCESE AGAIN FOUND COMPLIANT

 WITH CHILD PROTECTION CHARTER

For the third year, the Diocese of Brooklyn has been found to be in compliance with the U.S. Bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” based on “the completeness and accuracy of the information furnished by the Diocese” to an audit conducted last November.

            The Gavin Group, Inc., an independent firm comprised largely of retired F.B.I. agents, audited the Diocese for the bishops’ Office on Child and Youth Protection, An agent met with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and diocesan officials during the three-day review.

            Audits completed and found compliant in 2003 and 2004 to see whether the Diocese was meeting the objectives of the bishops’ charter looked at the document’s 17 articles. Last year’s audit focused principally on articles pertaining to safe environment programs and background evaluations, according to Msgr. Otto L. Garcia, Vicar General, who was the lead representative of the Diocese for the audit.

            The agent conducting the review also spoke with the Victims’ Assistance Coordinator, the Diocesan Review Board, several pastors, an abuse victim, an accused priest, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the diocesan Public Information Office and the Safe Environment Office.

            Josephite Sister Patricia Hudson, who directs the Safe Environment Office, reported that since the charter was implemented in 2002, 405 diocesan priests, 99 religious order priests, 144 extern priests, 125 permanent deacons, 4,819 teachers, 710 diocesan employees, 2,830 parish employees and 11,484 volunteers, including catechists, youth ministers and coaches, have completed the Virtus training program, a branch of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group.

            Virtus---a Latin word that means “valor” or “moral strength”---focuses on prevention with a proactive approach. About 80 dioceses use the program.

            Another program, Child Lures Prevention, has trained 36,343 children in Catholic schools to recognize potential danger signs and make smart decisions to avoid predators. Brooklyn is among more than 30 dioceses that use the initiative, created by Ken Wooden, a former investigative reporter for network television.

            Of the 45,521 public school students who attend parish religious education classes, 21, 491 have completed Child Lures training, with the remainder expected to finish the program by April 30. All public school students also follow the state curriculum on prevention.

            Sister Patricia said that 14,432 parents have also completed the Child Lures program and 2,186 have taken the Virtus training.

            Since the existence of the bishops’ charter, background evaluations of 14,548 individuals in the Diocese have been made by USIS Investigative Services. They include 409 diocesan priests, 99 religious order priests, 127 permanent deacons, 2,914 teachers, 554 diocesan employees, 1,375 parish employees, 8,975 volunteers and 95 candidates for priestly or diaconal ordination.

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1/24/06