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  Davenport Diocese Passes Training, Background

By Deirdre Cox Baker
Quad-City Times
August 15, 2007

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/15//news/local/doc46c27fa7eff1f091995159.txt

Davenport (IA) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is complying with national guidelines on protecting children and young people from sexual abusers, an audit shows.

An independent audit released in early August indicates 7,856 people who work with young people in the diocese have taken specialized, safe-environment training since the program started in 2003. A total of 5,929 adults have had their backgrounds checked by security personnel, as both processes continue in the diocese.

"We in the diocese are passionate about this," Mary Wieser said. "We never want what happened before to happen again."

As the diocese's school superintendent, Wieser provided information for the audit, which was conducted by the Gavin Group Inc., of Massachusetts. Crates of information were given to the auditor who then verified the data.

"They double-checked everything," she said. The reporting period went from July 1, 2006, to June 30.

The Gavin Group is headed by Bill Gavin, a former FBI agent and New York City police officer. While Gavin could not comment on specifics of the Davenport Diocese report, his group is involved with audits across the United States. The audits show how Latin-rite dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies comply with the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the wake of sexual abuse cases involving priests.

The audit for the Diocese of Peoria is planned for September.

Survivors wary

Survivors of clergy abuse are skeptical of the Gavin Group audits, said Terry McKienan, founder and co-director of BishopAccountability.org. "These audits do not address the root problem of priests attacking children," McKienan, of Waltham, Mass., said.

McKienan believes the studies do not hold the bishops accountable for their actions, although they do review protection mechanisms that each diocese has in place. "That's way better than nothing," he said.

The audits are incomplete as they do not include nuns and orders of religious women, said Steve Theisen, Iowa director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Theisen, of Hudson, Iowa, says he was abused as a child by a nun in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

"It's like a baseball game: They invent the game, they make the rules, choose the players and umpires and outcome. They do nothing to bridge the trust," he said.

Davenport passes

Davenport has consistently passed the tests, Wieser said, although there was a rocky beginning. On-site investigations were done in 2004 and 2005, with a paper audit in 2006. In 2007, the Gavin Group auditor came to Davenport and selected and interviewed diocesan officials, clergy abuse victims, police, priests and parishioners.

In 2003, Gavin, an experienced investigator whose company is retained by the bishops' conference, flew to the Quad-Cities and tried to interview diocesan personnel. But a local attorney advised then-Bishop William Franklin that no interviews be conducted without a lawyer present.

Gavin returned to the East Coast and participated in a Washington, D.C., news conference where he said Davenport was the only diocese in the country to refuse to speak to investigators, as the bishops' charter provides. The 2003 audit was dropped.

But four years have passed and times have changed, Wieser and Gavin agreed.

Wieser believes there has been a cultural change when it comes to the sexual abuse of children, and acknowledgement that problems are best left in the hands of professionals, including crime investigators.

"On the whole, I think that the bishops are doing a terrific job," Gavin said in a telephone interview.

Virtus training

Iowa's dioceses employ training designed by Virtus, which is also used in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Ill., and other states. The training is done via a Web site and by attending an educational session for two to three hours or more.

Teachers take part in longer sessions while volunteers, who may see children once a month or less often, have basic instruction with lectures and videotapes.

The auditor checked names of those who signed up for training on the Web site, and also who showed up for the required sessions, Wieser said.

Dan Ryan, principal at St. Paul the Apostle School, Davenport, is one of 42 Virtus facilitators for the diocese. He will conduct five or six sessions this year, in groups of 15-45.

"People realize mistakes were made in the past, and we need to do everything we can to make every correction we can," he said. "We all end up bearing some responsibility and cost for what happened."

Clergy abuse victims who spoke with the auditor found it to be a positive experience, according to Alicia Owens, the diocese's victim assistance coordinator. "It helped in their healing process," she said.

Two victims also had suggestions for future audits, which are now being considered. "We want to know we are on the right track and doing what we need to do," Owens said.

Most trained

The Gavin Group reported to the bishops' conference in April that 98 percent of the volunteers in the United States for whom training is required have taken it.

The Gavin organization conducted 11 full audits, mostly by special request, and 18 focused audits based on unresolved actions from the past, the conference announced on its Web site, usccb.org.

Dioceses not in compliance were Lincoln, Neb.; Cincinnati; Burlington, Vt.; Baker, Ore.; and the Eparchy of Newton for Melkite Catholics in Massachusetts and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark for Syriacs.

The Gavin Group will continue investigations through this fall, and the 2007 audit of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria is planned for September. A final report will be made to the bishops' conference by Jan. 1, 2008.

Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at www.qctimes.com.

On the Web

The audit reports are overseen by the Office of Child & Youth Protection at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the nation's nearly 200 Latin-rite dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies. The most recent annual report can be found at usccb.org/ocyp/FinalAnnual Report.pdf

 
 

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