full compliance

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 16, 2009

The Diocese of Rockville Center, New York, proudly announces that it is fully in compliance with the guidelines of the Dallas Charter. Newsday explains this achievement:

Last year an audit found that, while the diocese passed virtually every aspect of the 13-article audit, it failed in one part of one article. Of five parishes audited, one did not take sufficient action to train church volunteers in "safe environments" - or at least did not produce proper documentation showing it did so, church officials said.

You see the point? Being in "full compliance" meant filing the appropriate paperwork. Now it's filed, and we can all breath easier.

Meanwhile, just a few miles south of Rockville Center, the Newark archdiocese has announced that it is pulling Father Michael Fugee off his assignment as a hospital chaplain, after learning something about his past:

The priest was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual contact involving a boy. The conviction was overturned by an appeals court and the priest entered a "pretrial intervention program."

Notice that we're not talking about an anonymous accusation here. We're talking about a conviction. Nor are we talking about ancient history; the conviction was in 2003, after the bishops' approval of the Dallas Charter. Yet he was still, somehow, on active duty.

Knowing that, will you feel more confident about the supervision of priests in Newark if you learn that the archdiocese has filed all its paperwork, and is in "full compliance" with the audit process?