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	Audit Shows Allentown Diocese Compliant with National Child Abuse Prevention Rule This Year Was the Third in a Row That Local Churches Met Policy The Morning Call [Allentown PA] October 20, 2005 Auditors have deemed the Allentown Catholic Diocese is compliant with a national policy aimed at preventing and dealing with child abuse, according to a news release from the diocese. Since the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was adopted in 2002 after the sex abuse scandal, the Allentown Diocese has been deemed compliant. For its third audit, the diocese didn't receive an on-site audit, but returned a completed questionnaire and supporting documents. Auditors from Gavin Group Inc. of Winthrop, Mass., conducted follow-up interviews with diocesan personnel, pastors and victims, the release said. Dioceses that were deemed not in compliance in previous audits received on-site audits.To comply with the charter, the Allentown Diocese took several actions, such as training those who work with children in detecting signs of abuse and placing priests accused of sexual abuse in a restricted facility. Officials from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests had been skeptical of the audits, saying there's no independent verification of the statements and documents supplied by the dioceses. At its semiannual conference in June, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recommended that dioceses no longer be subject to audits assessing compliance with the mandate. This, among other recommendations, must be recognized by the Vatican. According to a study commissioned by the U.S. Conference, 27 priests in the diocese were accused of sexually abusing children between 1950 and 2002. The statute of limitations in all the cases had expired.
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