PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror
MAR 7, 2017
RYAN BROWN
Staff Writer
rbrown@altoonamirror.com
The Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed a series of broad reforms Monday, aimed at preventing child sex abuse and responding swiftly to future allegations.
The new policies and advisory bodies, revealed at a joint press conference by acting Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song and Bishop Mark Bartchak, come roughly a year after the state attorney general issued a forceful report detailing decades of child abuse cases and cover-ups.
Under the agreement, the diocese will establish a five-member Independent Oversight Board for Youth Protection, slated to advise officials on child abuse prevention and enforcement. The diocese is also set to establish new rules for contacting law enforcement and publishing accused clergymen’s names, to reform its allegation review board and to hire a consultant and a new official to handle abuse, according to the document.
“One year ago I made a public pledge to victim-survivors. … Today I reaffirm that pledge,” Bartchak said.
Song stressed that the memorandum doesn’t constitute a court order; Bartchak was a “willing partner” in the process, she said.
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