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	Attorney General to Release Audit of Diocese Next Month New Abuse Allegations Were Made Last Year By Philip Elliott Associated Press, carried in Concord Monitor [New Hampshire] March 19, 2007 http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/REPOSITORY/703190310/1043/NEWS01 The annual, independent audit of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is complete, and the state's attorney general's office is preparing to release the results next month. Under a 2002 agreement, the diocese agreed to annual checks in exchange for avoiding criminal prosecution. The 2006 report should be ready for public release in mid- to late-April, Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker said. "We're in the process of finalizing it," Delker said, noting that the first audit was released last year and the current results are in draft format. He declined to discuss the audit's findings but said new abuse allegations were made against priests last year. Diocesan leaders "continue to get new allegations, and some - if not most - involve priests who we already knew about," including some who have died, he said. Last week, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester released its own internal audit, which said it made "significant progress" through better screening and training last year. The diocesan review board said the diocese continues to report abuse allegations to civil authorities, but a church official wouldn't say how many allegations were received or passed along. The diocese was criticized in the past for failing to tell authorities about reports of abuse that were not deemed credible or that occurred a long time ago. More than four years ago, the diocese acknowledged that its conduct had harmed children and that it probably would have been convicted of child endangerment had it not settled with the state and agreed to the audits. In the past five years, 15,000 church employees and volunteers have been trained to recognize and report signs of child abuse, said the Rev. Edward Arsenault, who leads the diocese's efforts to prevent and report sexual abuse. That policy has been updated to require immediate reporting to the state attorney general's office, as well as child protection workers and local police when appropriate, no matter when the abuse occurred, Arsenault said. The diocesan review board's 2005 audit found that not all churches and parochial schools had fully complied with screening procedures for clergy, employees and volunteers who work regularly with minors. But as of May 1, 2006, all had been screened, according to the latest audit. Those who work with children are required to complete a screening form, receive a copy of the church's abuse-prevention policy and undergo multiple background checks. They also must be trained on appropriate conduct and required reporting procedures and attend a workshop on sexual abuse awareness and prevention, according to the report. The diocese also hired a compliance coordinator who visited all 108 parishes and 25 schools to ensure that the policy was being followed and that new employees and volunteers are being trained quickly, according to the report.
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