Diocese In Full Compliance With
Charter Audit
March/April 2005
I am pleased to report to you that for two consecutive years now, the
Diocese of Saint Augustine has been judged to be in full compliance with
the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The Gavin Group audited the diocese for the second year during the week
of Dec. 13, 2004. This independent investigative firm is headed by
William Gavin, a former FBI official with nearly 30 years experience at
the Bureau. The
Gavin Group has been charged by the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops to monitor the progress of dioceses across the country in
implementing the Charter. The Charter, you will recall, was produced by
the American bishops at their Dallas meeting in June 2002, and has
received the approval of the Holy See.
The 2003 audit focused on whether our diocese actually had structures
and programs in place to insure a safe environment for our youth. The
2004 audit, just completed, focused on whether those programs were
functioning properly at both the diocesan and the parish level.
Also, during the period covered by last year's audit, credible
allegations of sexual abuse were made against two priests, who were
serving in our diocese more than 30 years ago when the victims were
still minors. One of the priests is
deceased; the other, who is in his 80s, lives out of the country. Our
Diocesan Review Board addressed both cases. In one of the cases, I
personally met with the victims in order to help them bring closure to
their tragic experience.
Our most recent auditors were two former FBI agents employed by the
Gavin Group. They interviewed diocesan staff, members of the Diocesan
Review Board, diocesan clergy and some parishioners. At the end of their
weeklong
examination, they met with me personally to discuss their report, which
was a thorough, objective and independent assessment of our efforts to
safeguard our youth. It was largely positive, but did point out several
areas where our efforts could be improved. Since our diocese was found
to be in full compliance with the Charter, our audit for 2005 will be a
self-audit, in which we respond to information
requested from the Gavin Group.
As a result of the audit, I have already taken steps to enhance our safe
environment efforts. I have restructured our Diocesan Review Board
(formerly, the Response Team) by making it more independent. The new
head of the Review Board is retired Circuit Court Judge Virginia Beverly
of Jacksonville. The one clergy member of the board is Father Joseph
Meehan, an experienced pastor with an impeccable reputation. The board’s
task will be to examine and address allegations of sexual child abuse by
clergy, religious or other church personnel. They will make
recommendations directly to me regarding corrective actions,
accountability and means to prevent a recurrence of any substantiated
acts of abuse.
We, as a diocese, are charged with ensuring that our youth can study,
pray and play in a safe environment. Just as in other dioceses, we
accomplish this in part by conducting background checks and providing
safe
environment training programs (Protecting God’s Children). All parish,
school and diocesan clergy, religious and lay employees, as well as
certain “covered” volunteers are required to take part in these
programs. Though we do have systems for tracking compliance with these
requirements, and though our compliance rates exceed 85 percent, this
area could still use some improvement. We are currently developing
uniform standards of accountability for our parishes, schools and
diocesan institutions, which will better assure 100 percent compliance
in these areas. Our
goal is not merely a safe environment for our youth, but the safest
environment possible.
The Charter and the two audits conducted thus far are just a few of the
steps taken by the Catholic bishops of this country to rebuild the trust
of our Catholic laity. In addition, I have put in place a diocesan
Victim Assistance Coordinator. I urge you to contact this person
directly if your child is the victim of abusive conduct by clergy,
religious, lay employees or church volunteers, or if you have knowledge
of an occurrence of abuse. The Victim Assistance Coordinator can be
contacted at (904) 262-3200, ext. 129, or (800) 775-4659, ext. 129. All
calls are confidential.
Note: The complete 2nd annual Report on the Implementation of the
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and electronic
versions of the executive summaries for each diocese/eparchy audited are
available online at
www.usccb.org.
