Lincoln Diocese says it had a right to skip child protection audit

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., said Feb. 21 that it had a right not to participate in the 2004 sexual abuse and child protection audits of dioceses across the country because the bishops' charter calling for such audits "is not a law of the Catholic Church requiring compliance but only an advisory document."

The diocese issued a statement on its position to Catholic News Service in Washington after it was publicly criticized for being the only diocese in the country not to participate in the 2004 audits. The audits were reviews by outside investigators of the Gavin Group, most of them former FBI agents, to assess whether dioceses had taken the steps needed to implement the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002. The results of the 2004 audits were released at a press conference in Washington Feb. 18.

I don't fault Bishop Bruskewitz at all for his position. As a matter of fact, I believe he is to be commended for having few, if any, of these problems.

I recall vividly his intervention to get to the source of the issue (dissent and homosexuality) at the USCCB meeting in Dallas which was rejected by the majority of Bishops. Many Catholics were disappointed that his request was rejected, as dissent and rejection of Church teaching, among both the laity and the ordained, is viewed as a major contributing factor to the problems the Church faces.