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	Dioceses Struggle to Meet Mandate Monitoring of Accused Priests Is 'Spotty,' Group Official Says By Romy Varghese The Morning Call [Allentown PA] May 5, 2005 The Allentown Catholic Diocese's decision to place priests accused of sexual abuse in a restricted facility in Schuylkill County reflects a situation faced by dioceses nationwide: how to fulfill an ill-defined mandate on dealing with such priests. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is considering a move similar to Allentown's program, which requires that the supervised priests undergo a specialized "safety plan." Officials at the Scranton Catholic Diocese didn't return calls for comment. Allentown diocesan officials said they developed the program to comply with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops established in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse scandal. Under the charter, offending priests who have been removed from ministry because of sexual abuse should "lead a life of prayer and penance." As for how dioceses can ensure such lives, the charter doesn't say. But a report released by the bishops conference last year recommended that bishops keep track of the priests. Most dioceses are trying to develop plans to monitor priests out of concern for the priests and the community, said the Rev. Robert J. Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, which provides ministry resources for councils representing 26,000 priests. "It's something we've been worried about," he said. Monitoring of abusive priests released from ministry is "spotty," he said, and often the priests are "left on their own." The Allentown Diocese would not say where the priests, who will be staying at the St. Francis Center in Orwigsburg, had been staying. Limited resources and privacy issues make it difficult to keep tabs on priests who already have been removed from ministry or stand accused, Silva said. In Milwaukee, Archbishop Timothy Dolan backed away from a policy that would have permitted unannounced searches of the homes and computers of priests accused of sexual abuse and other violations, such as alcoholism. Priests had decried it as intrusive, and Dolan is re-evaluating what the archdiocese will do, according to the National Catholic Reporter, an independent weekly paper. David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, dismisses the 2002 charter and the subsequent audit of dioceses. Independent auditors found that most dioceses had implemented the measures in the charter. "There's little uniformity and effective supervision" of removed priests, Clohessy said. Also there's "no real evidence" dioceses are monitoring priests even though they said they are. If a diocese, for example, said it checked on a removed priest once a month, the auditors didn't independently verify the statement. Officials from the bishops conference couldn't be reached for comment. In the plan devised by the Allentown Diocese, two priests who allegedly engaged in sexual abuse decades ago already are living in a secluded, locked wing at St. Francis Center. Three others, who also have been removed from the ministry, will join them later, according to the diocese. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has talked about implementing a program similar to Allentown's, but is not prepared to talk about details, spokeswoman Donna Farrell said. The archdiocese is working with St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, Chester County, which is developing the personalized plans for the priests in the Allentown Diocese's program. A center spokeswoman declined to talk generally about what the priests will undergo.
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