The "structures" are working, but are the children safe?

From the propaganda bureau of the USCCB, we read:

Dioceses Compliant with Charter, 98 Percent of Volunteers Trained in Child Protection, Independent Audit Shows

WASHINGTON (April 11, 2007) — Virtually all U.S. dioceses are compliant with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, according to a report on the 2006 audits conducted by the Gavin Group, a Boston-based company that monitors diocesan adherence to the U.S. bishops’ plan to address clergy sexual abuse of children.

The Gavin Group also reported that based on information provided auditors, “98 percent of the volunteers for whom training is required have been trained.”

And what does this prove, exactly? What is so frustrating for some in this matter is that there seems to be a failure to address and deal with the real issue of the renegade and criminal behavior of some priests and bishops, and it seems that most of the effort of this "plan" was shifted to screen and check the laity and give children "training" using questionable materials. Was this not termed, after all, the "clergy" sexual abuse scandal? And were not the majority (80%+) of the cases homosexual in nature?

Bishop William Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), noted the report’s significance.

“Vigilance to ensure the safety of children is now a way of life,” he said.

It's a shame that vigilance was not exercised in the selection, training, and oversight of priests and bishops.

The audit report noted that “as they had in 2005, the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska and the Eparchy of Newton for Melkite Catholics refused to participate in the 2006 compliance audit process.”

Seventeen of the focused audits centered on Article 12, concerning Safe Environment programs that call for education and training of children, youth, parents, ministers, educators and others who come into contact with children. . .

The Diocese of Baker, Oregon, and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark for Syriacs refused to participate in the focused audit process, which was required by their failure to comply with Article 12 in the 2005 audit.

One bishop was heard discussing this "nebulous Safe Environment program" and indicated that he was really unclear where he should start since, in reality, it could conceivably encompass just about anything, including playground equipment and glass doors and more. And the education of the children is a right of the parents - and that a number of the "programs" for children were, shall we say, less than adequate. (Anyone remember Fr Robert Altier and what happened when he exposed one of these programs?)

Patricia Ewers, PhD, chair of the National Review Board, voiced discouragement that four dioceses/eparchs would not comply with the audits.

Last year Bishop Bruskewitz responded to the bureaucrat Ewars who criticized him for not playing along with the National Review Board:

Some woman named Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, who is the Chair of something called "A National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People", has said that her Board "calls for strong fraternal correction of the Diocese of Lincoln." The Diocese of Lincoln has nothing to be corrected for, since the Diocese of Lincoln is and has always been in full compliance with all laws of the Catholic Church and with all civil laws. Furthermore, Ewers and her Board have no authority in the Catholic Church and the Diocese of Lincoln does not recognize them as having any significance.

It is well known that some of the members of Ewers' Board are ardent advocates of partial birth abortion, other abortions, human cloning, and other moral errors. It is understandable then how such persons could dislike the Diocese of Lincoln, which upholds the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.

The words attributed to Ewers seem to confirm the suspicion that the members of her Board are unfamiliar with Catholic teachings, Catholic ecclesiology, and even the basic rudiments of the Catholic Catechism. Rather than concerning themselves with the Diocese of Lincoln about which they appear completely ignorant, Ewers and her colleagues would occupy themselves in a better way by learning something about the Catholic religion and the traditions and doctrines and laws of the Catholic Church.

The Diocese of Lincoln does not see any reason for the existence of Ewers and her organization.

The Church needs more bishops like Bruskewitz and Vasa. And the faithful would be well served to have fewer of those who put together and support this bureaucratic con job which is little more than a waste of money and time except for those whose job security is at stake:

Teresa Kettelkamp, head of the U.S. bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection, noted the effectiveness of the audits.

“The audits have solidly proven that the structures of the Charter are working,” she said. “But this does not mean the job is done. Victims continue to come forward, and a welcoming hand needs to reach out to them. Children still need our protection, and a safe environment must be maintained for them.”

Read again slowly...The audits have "solidly proven that the structures of the Charter are working"...but are they "protecting the children" and maintaining a "safe environment"? Who really knows, but the Charter, the audits and the NRB are providing employment opportunities.

The USCCB report is here.