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  A Sin of Omission

Republican [Springfield MA]
February 24, 2005

Call it a sin of omission.

There was no mention of the resignation last year of the former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield amid allegations of sexual abuse in the annual audit of the diocese's implementation of the U.S. bishops policy to prevent clergy abuse.

Nor did the audit make any mention of the subsequent indictment of the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre on two counts of rape.

While the three-page report did outline in detail how the diocese has successfully implemented specific articles of the Charter for the Protection of Children - 16 out of 17 articles - its failure to address the reasons for Dupre's departure and his subsequent indictment taint its credibility.

We look forward to the diocese's implementation this spring of No. 17 - an abuse prevention component to its religious education program in the parishes.

If the diocese hopes to regain the confidence of all the Catholics it serves, it must be more forthright, open and honest in its audits.