Diocese exceeded requirements, is model for other dioceses - audit
CLIFTON - Independent auditors have determined that the Diocese of Paterson is in full compliance with the U.S. Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People after a re-audit was completed in December. The auditors' report signifies that the diocese is following established procedures to protect children from physical or sexual abuse.
The audit, covering the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009, was conducted by representatives of the Gavin Group, an independent firm in Boston headed by retired FBI official William Gavin.
"On the day that I was installed as your Bishop, I highlighted my concern about protecting the young: 'Today is the feast of Maria Goretti, a victim of abuse and violence, a martyr for purity - a saint for our time. Her holy life and her tragic death challenge us to renew our efforts to safeguard our young - to protect them from insidious evil that would rob them of their innocence and scar them for life,'" said Bishop Serratelli. "The hard work of our staff members and volunteers has resulted in the declaration that our diocese is in compliance with the expected norms. The children and youth in our parishes, agencies, and schools are in the safest possible environments."
In a letter to Bishop Serratelli announcing the auditors' findings, William Gavin wrote: "The diocese has made most admirable strides in a brief period of time to revamp their record keeping system that now insures that all parish/school employees and volunteers have completed criminal background evaluations. The addition of a full-time compliance officer will no doubt continue to improve the initiatives put in place by the diocese [see related story on Dennis Butler]. I wish to express my appreciation to the diocese for the positive manner in which you have address this issue and accommodated the re-visit of the auditor to verify your compliance."
"The process of having an outside audit helped us to find ways that we could be even more comprehensive and thorough," said Msgr. James Mahoney, vicar general. " Given the large number of persons involved in serving our children and youth, both professional and volunteers, there was some areas where difficulties were found in our database. With diocesan, parish and school staffs, and agency staffs, we set out to do the finest possible job to meet the requirements of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. While thinking that we were simply meeting the requirements of the Charter, the final audit showed that we had exceeded the requirements and have become a model for other dioceses. This is a credit to the diocesan-wide collaboration which brought us to such a level of excellence in behalf of our children and youth."
According to Tom Barrett, the diocese's chief operating officer, "We want to use 'best practices' in every area of the diocese. Since there were some technical problems with the national database that the diocese was using, we developed a new database just for our diocese. This allowed us to have access to information which was never possible in the past. Diocesan staff, deacons, and select members of parish staffs were trained to go out and assist every single parish and school. The results of their work are self-evident. We believe that our children and youth were safe prior to this audit. We also believe that the process we have followed will continue the highest vigilance to protect the young."
