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	Future of N.H. Church Abuse Settlement Heads to Court By J.M. Hirsch The Associated Press, carried in Telegram & Gazette [Concord NH] January 16, 2005 CONCORD, N.H.— Discord over evaluating the child protection policies of the state's Roman Catholic diocese has grown so acrimonious the agreement calling for the evaluation could be voided. That has both sides eager to persuade a judge the deal can be saved. If they fail, the state could find itself litigating an onerous case with little guarantee of success, while the diocese could earn the distinction of being the first in the nation to face criminal charges stemming from the child sex abuse scandal. Annual audits for five years are required by a 2002 agreement between the church and state that ended a criminal investigation of whether diocesan officials knew members of the clergy were abusing children but failed to protect them. At issue now is the scope of the audit and who will pay for it. The church wants the state to cover the bill and the evaluation to be limited mostly to paperwork. The state says the church should pay and wants a wide-ranging evaluation. The dispute began just months after the church and state reached the then unprecedented deal in which prosecutors agreed not to seek criminal indictments against the church. In exchange, the diocese agreed to enact strict new child protection policies, admit its actions had harmed children, open itself to audits and admit it probably would have been convicted had the case gone to trial. The agreement did not specify who would pay for the audits, however, and the parties have wildly different takes on what sort of audit would satisfy the terms of the agreement. In September, the dispute landed before Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Carol Conboy, who said the interpretations were so divergent she questioned whether there was any agreement at all. She ordered both sides to explain why she shouldn't void the agreement. A hearing on the definition of a contract and whether the agreement constitutes one is scheduled for Thursday. The church abuse scandal erupted in Boston in early 2002. It quickly spread to the rest of the nation, including New Hampshire, where John McCormack - a former top aide to Boston Cardinal Bernard Law - was bishop. During the next few years, the New Hampshire diocese paid millions of dollars in settlements as hundreds of people came forward accusing clergymen of sexual abuse. The state's investigation was prompted by allegations that the church knew about some of the abuse and covered it up. Most of the allegations are from the 1960s and 1970s, long before McCormack's tenure. Since the agreement, McCormack - who also was the subject of criticism from his time in Boston - has admitted making mistakes, and has instituted tough new policies in New Hampshire, where he was named bishop in 1998. In briefs filed last week, both sides had harsh words for the other's interpretation of how the agreement should be carried out. Associate Attorney General Ann Larney called the diocese's version indefensible and preposterous. The church sees the audit mostly as a review of policies and documents; the state seeks broad access to interview diocesan personnel. "The diocese now seeks to continue the environment of secrecy and avoidance by claiming that the audit provision is narrow and superficial, with the state only allowed to measure compliance by looking at written policies and procedures but no opportunity to look into whether they work or are effective," Larney wrote. The agreement says the audit "may include, without limitation, the inspection of records and the interview of diocesan personnel." The diocese believes the scope of the state's proposed audit goes well beyond what it agreed to and would be so intrusive it would be unconstitutional, diocesan lawyer David Vicinanzo said. "The diocese, mindful of these limits and presuming state compliance with the law, agreed to an audit to assess its compliance with its obligations under the agreement. The diocese did not, and the state could not, agree to an audit of the scope" proposed, he wrote. In comparison, money seems less of a sticking point. Though initial church estimates said the audits would cost around $1 million, in an interview last week Larney said negotiations with the auditing firm have cut that to about $445,000. That includes scaling back the audit from five years to four. While the state originally said the church, as the target of a criminal investigation, should pay the bill, Larney said the state would consider splitting it. The diocese has argued the state must pay. Thursday's hearing will include a group of Catholics who have been critical of the church's handling of the abuse crisis. The group, led by Anne Coughlin, asked the judge to make them interveners in the case, arguing that as members and victims of the church they have an interest in the outcome. Though Conboy has not ruled, she plans to let them speak during the hearing. Coughlin says the group hasn't decided what it will say in court, but felt it was vital to have the opportunity. "When it seemed to become a question of whether they are going to do this, that was worrying. This agreement means a lot to people," she said. "To know there is some danger of losing the whole thing is a matter of grave concern."