WASHINGTON -- A Catholic all-lay review board has asked the U.S. bishops' staff to survey the nation's 194 dioceses and find out what progress has been made in ridding the churches of sexual abusers.
The board met for the first time July 30 to follow up on a no-tolerance policy adopted in June, according to The Associated Press. (See story: Catholic bishops adopt abuse guidelines.) The policy calls for bishops to remove all past and present abusers from active ministry and refer new cases to the police.
The board also voted to hire someone with law enforcement experience to direct the new Office for Child and Youth Protection, according to the AP. Washington lawyer Robert S. Bennett is heading the search and plans to have someone in place by Sept. 1.
Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, the board's chairman, said quick action will help assure Catholic and non-Catholic parents that their children are safe in parochial schools.
Keating said although the board has only an advisory role, it will not hesitate to put the pressure on those who fail to honor the new policy. Keating told the AP he will encourage lay Catholics to exercise "the power of the purse."
"If a bishop shuns his moral duty, it's time for the lay community of that diocese to say we're not writing another check until things change," Keating said.
The advisory panel will meet again Sept. 16 in Oklahoma City to plan research projects on why the scandal is so prevalent in the American church and the scope of the problem.
