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	Austin Bishop at Forefront in Dealing with Church Scandal Local Diocese Leader Heads National Committee on Abuse Cases By Eileen E. Flynn American-Statesman [Austin TX] March 8, 2006 http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/03/8aymond.html Before the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal broke in January 2002, Bishop Gregory Aymond already had begun taking steps in the 25-county Austin Diocese to prevent such crimes by drafting an ethics policy that included intensive training and background checks on everyone who works with children. In the past four years, Aymond has established a reputation as a proactive bishop committed to dealing with sex abuse in his diocese. He removed two popular priests accused of molestation, worked as a consultant for a national abuse prevention firm and directed the diocese to pay for victims' counseling. So it came as no surprise when U.S. bishops elected him in November to chair the committee that oversees efforts to protect minors from abuse. But on the national stage, Aymond is facing critics who say he's not doing enough to address a recent sex abuse scandal in Chicago. A priest there was allowed to remain in his ministry while the church investigated allegations of abuse. Although Chicago's Cardinal Francis George appointed a monitor for the priest, the man is accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy. The priest, now removed from ministry, has been charged with aggravated sexual abuse. But some lay people are calling for George's resignation and say Aymond and his Office of Child & Youth Protection should publicly admonish George, as well as put more teeth into the charter policy on dealing with sex abuse that U.S. bishops adopted at a historic meeting in Dallas in 2002. Under the charter, a priest who has abused a minor must be removed from public ministry and possibly the priesthood, and dioceses are subject to yearly audits to ensure compliance. "There's no disciplinary measures, no disciplinary review for any bishop or cardinal that has been or gets involved in this kind of cover-up," said Milwaukee resident Peter Isely, a founding member of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. Without more aggressive measures by church leaders, Isely said, "Catholics are still basically on their own." Aymond paints a different picture of church leaders. His committee is looking into critics' suggestion of creating a national sex offender registry, he said. And though only the pope can mete out punishment, he said bishops regularly call one another on their failures to protect children, noting that he receives weekly letters from colleagues asking what more they can do to protect minors. Aymond would not chastise his fellow prelate and instead defended George as "one of the strongest supporters of the charter." He also noted that George had not technically violated the rules because the charter states that an accused priest is presumed innocent and does not require immediate removal. Aymond said he knew he would be subject to harsher scrutiny in his leadership role on the committee, on which he had served for more than two years. He said he was anxious when he took on the job, which involves frequent travel to Washington and daily contact with the national bishops. "There was certainly some fear," Aymond said. "It's a very important committee for the bishops conference." Anne Burke, an Illinois appellate court judge and vocal critic of the church's response to the Chicago scandal, said bishops must provide answers. "The questions we have and I think lay people would have all over the United States is: Who's monitoring these dioceses?" she said. "How effective are they in following the policies?" At home, Aymond continues to take measures to prevent abuse, including promoting a new educational video designed to help middle and high school students understand and avoid molestation. But although he's lauded for those efforts, some Austin-area Catholics have expressed concern over what they see as Aymond's lack of transparency in financial matters and clergy assignments. Too often, said John Mannix of Austin, lay people see the system of church governance as a "feudal system much like the Roman Empire." "It's all about openness and accountability and lay people realizing that they are an integral part of the church in terms of governance," said Mannix, who attends St. Theresa parish in Northwest Austin. He said Aymond rejected a suggestion by some Austin Catholics to form a Voice of the Faithful chapter here. The national group formed in Massachusetts after the sex abuse scandal to demand that bishops be more accountable to lay people. Aymond instead offered to create a bishop's lay advisory council of 14 Catholics appointed by church leaders from across the diocese who would meet with him several times a year. Aymond expects the council will be formed by May. Holly Tuccio, also a member of St. Theresa, said Aymond's "openness to this idea was a real plus for me in the sense that he was receptive to it, and he could see the need for it. I think that was a very progressive step."
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