(CHICAGO) January 6, 2004 - Officials of the Archdiocese of Chicago today released results of its Compliance Audit Report, compiled by the Office of Child and Youth Protection of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following a review conducted in the Archdiocese during the last week of July 2003. The report concludes that the Archdiocese of Chicago is in compliance with the provisions of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The Charter for addressing sexual abuse of minors by clerics was adopted by the Bishops of the U.S. in June 2002. It was revised and recognized by the Vatican and became effective March 2003.

Under the Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth, all U.S. dioceses are directed to promote healing and reconciliation, guarantee response to allegations of abuse of minors, ensure accountability of procedures and protect the faithful from future abuse. The Archdiocese of Chicago’s policies and procedures answer these concerns and establish a mechanism for continued compliance.

The results are part of the Annual Report of the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People released today during a Washington, D.C. press conference attended by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Kathleen McChesney, Director of the USCCB’s Office of Child and Youth Protection, Bill Gavin, of the Gavin Group of Boston, the firm that conducted the audits, and representatives of the National Review Board. The Review Board is responsible for the audits as well as two other studies to be released next month that will elaborate on the audit and present conclusions drawn by the NRB from expert testimony.

The Archdiocese of Chicago received commendations for performance in several areas including:

• the 1992 creation, adoption and publication of an excellent archdiocesan policy regarding sexual abuse of minors,
  
• the development and sponsoring of an annual Assistance Ministry Conference for the benefit of diocesan personnel from throughout the country,
  
• the successful pursuit of measures to ensure an outstanding working relationship with civil authorities in matters of sexual abuse of minors,
  
• excellent procedures for dealing with and monitoring priests removed from active ministry for reasons of abuse.
  The Compliance Audit Summary issued six recommendations to the Archdiocese – all of which the Archdiocese has addressed as of December 1, 2003.
  The recommendations requested that the Archdiocese:
  
• formalize the existing agreements with civil authorities regarding the reporting of allegations of sexual abuse of minors,
  
• implement the Safe Haven program,
  
• expedite background investigations for all archdiocesan and parish personnel, including volunteers having regular contact with children
• create and publish a written policy statement reflecting the commitment of the Archdiocese to openness and transparency in communications
  
• create and publicize standards of conduct for clergy and personnel having contact with children, and
  
• provide written notification to the bishop in the diocese to which two retired priests relocated after having been removed from ministry, including details of allegations of sexual abuse by those priests.
  

“The Archdiocese was in the process of implementing several of the recommendations during the audit,” said Jimmy Lago, Chancellor of the Archdiocese. “As of today, all the recommendations made by the audit team in July have been acted upon by the Archdiocese,” Lago added.

Formalized agreements with the states attorneys of both Cook and Lake counties have been secured, the Chancellor reported. A written standardized conduct policy for all employees and volunteers has been created pending formal approval and a communications policy on openness and transparency is complete and available on the Archdiocese’s web site.

“In September of 2003,” Lago said, “the Archdiocese launched a new Covenant To Protect Children that established an office for the Protection of Children and Youth and provides mandatory professional training and uniform screening, including criminal background checks, for current and future staff and adult volunteers who regularly work with children. “This three-pronged initiative,” Lago said, “puts the Archdiocese in full compliance with the recommendations issued by the audit group.”

The audit report confirms the strong stand taken by the Archdiocese in addressing sexual misconduct and its continued intolerance of clerical misconduct as well as its comprehensive program for treating accuser and accused fairly. Compliance with civil reporting requirements, cooperation with investigations of alleged misconduct and removal from ministry of any clerics with substantiated allegations of misconduct were also confirmed by the audit.

When the National Review Board announced its intention to conduct audits in all 195 dioceses it was to assist the Office for Child and Youth Protection in assessing the implementation of the Charter and to provide public accountability regarding how dioceses are conforming to the Charter. The audits were conducted from June to November of last year by the Gavin Group of Boston, a firm composed of former FBI investigators.

The NRB is expected to release results of a study conducted by John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York late next month that will elaborate on the statistics compiled from the audits. Along with this study, the NRB will present a report based on interviews with approximately 60 people considered experts on the abuse issue and the John Jay study.