CAMDEN (March 12, 2008) – An independent audit has found the Diocese of Camden to be in full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which was adopted by the U.S. Bishops in June 2002.
The audit of the Diocese of Camden was conducted Aug. 6-10, 2007 by the Gavin Group, Inc. of Boston, an independent firm of experienced compliance auditors, many of whom are former FBI agents and law enforcement officers. The Gavin Group was retained by the U.S. bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection to measure the progress made by each diocese to implement the Charter.
The Diocese of Camden was found to be compliant in three previous audits, which were conducted in 2003, 2004 and 2005. No audit was conducted in 2006. The 2007 audit covered the period of August 22, 2005 through June 30, 2007 and reviewed
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the diocese’s outreach to victims, including pastoral care and victim assistance;
- its programs of prevention, including safe-environment programs
- the reporting of allegations by the diocese to civil authorities;
- its long-standing cooperation with law enforcement; a range of safe-environment and prevention programs;
- its open, active communication with parishioners and the public
During the audit period, over 7,000 background checks were performed on priests, deacons, seminarians, educators, employees and volunteers who have regular contact with minors. The diocese also provided safe-environment training for more than 55,000 children, youth and adults, including school children, children in religious education programs, educators, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, employees and volunteers.
The unprecedented measures undertaken by the United States bishops in Dallas in 2002 to prevent sexual abuse in the Church have had a positive effect, according to studies tracking abuse claims in the United States dioceses. The report issued by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) indicated that the number of abuse allegations brought against Catholic clergy and religious in the United States in 2007 had dropped for the forth consecutive year.
Of the abuse cases that were reported nationwide last year, four (4) concerned young people who were minors in 2007. In the Diocese of Camden, the last known incident of abuse of a minor occurred thirteen years ago, in 1995, according to the diocese.
With abuse cases declining in the Church, other reports have confirmed that abuse is more likely to occur in other segments of the population. An Associated Press report released last October, for example, supported earlier findings that the incidence of sexual abuse of minors by educators in public schools today is far greater than abuse reported in the Church at its peak two decades ago.
Dr. Charol S. Shakeshaft, former scholar at Hoftstra University and now chair of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, estimated that the physical sexual abuse of students in public schools is more than 100 times more likely to occur than clergy abuse.
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For a full report of the diocese’s compliance and the USCCB’s Annual Report, see www.464edee1fa.nxcli.io. To report an incident of abuse or to reach the diocese’s Victim Assistance Coordinator, contact (856) 524-4552.