Catholic panel promises release of its findings

CHICAGO (AP) — A panel of prominent Roman Catholics pledged yesterday to publicly release its findings from several ongoing studies on molester priests — even if their reports turn up information that will likely be used in lawsuits against the church.

The promise came as the National Review Board, a dozen lay Catholics appointed by U.S. bishops to monitor the church’s reform efforts, issued a progress report on its first year of work.

Robert Bennett, a prominent Washington attorney and member of the board, said the panel has told the bishops that the results of four separate studies currently under way will be released no matter what.

The first study, an audit of whether dioceses are implementing reforms aimed at ridding the priesthood of abusers, is scheduled for release in December.

“At the end of the day, protection of children and young people is of paramount importance,” Mr. Bennett said. “It is the unanimous view of this board … that disclosure is what is required.”

But a major victims’ advocacy group immediately raised doubts about the studies’ value. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, whose founder, Barbara Blaine, met with the board yesterday, questioned whether the reports will be accurate since they are partly based on data provided by dioceses.

“They seem to rely solely or at least largely on interviews with church personnel,” Miss Blaine said.

Mr. Bennett acknowledged that the self-reporting approach was “not perfect.”

But he and other board members said the audit — which will be repeated regularly in the future — combined with continued public pressure from parishioners will force reluctant bishops to comply.

The audits are being overseen by a former top FBI official, Kathleen McChesney, who is head of the bishops’ new child-protection office. She has hired a former FBI counterintelligence official to assist her and another former FBI official to directly manage the auditors.

Auditors have visited 45 of the nation’s 195 dioceses since starting their research in June 2002.

“Those auditors, I can assure you, are not choirboys,” said Ray Siegfried, a panel member and Oklahoma businessman. “They can do the job, and they can do it well.”

Mr. Siegfried said some dioceses were not complying with the reforms, but he did not reveal specifics.

The audits are one part of an unprecedented review of sex abuse in the American church that the National Review Board has undertaken.

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