September 18, 2024

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

After both an onsite audit and data collection were completed, the Diocese of Ogdensburg was found, yet again, to be in compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

“We have an onsite audit every three years,” said John Morrison, Safe Environment Office and Charter Compliance coordinator. “The onsite audit was June 5 to 7. It was earlier than the last two cycles. We’re typically audited in the fall. As a result, the audit year wasn’t completed. We just submitted the data collection – the other part of the audit.”

Morrison noted that the diocese was found to be in compliance and no recommendations for program changes were made.

“(Auditors) typically offer a management letter with recommendations to update the policy or procedures,” Morrison said. “This time, the auditor said he didn’t think it was necessary and that he didn’t think they could add anything of substance to our policy and procedures. That’s unusual. That’s not to say our program is perfect; there’s always room for improvement, but by and large, we comply with the Charter and certainly consider Safe Environment policies as we’re setting up or running programs. It’s an important thing to get ingrained, and I feel like we’ve largely done that here.”

Morrison noted that the onsite audit involved a large number of diocesan, parish and school representatives.

“The first day, the auditor conducts interviews with diocesan personnel who have contact or involvement with children or whose role is included in the Safe Environment Policy,” he said. “They also conduct extensive interviews with the chair of the diocesan Review Board, as well as five members of the Review Board. The review board is a critical piece of our program, since they review any and all allegations and make recommendations to the bishop. The auditors want to make sure everyone knows their role as outlined in the policy.”

On the second day, the auditors go out into the diocese to review school and parish records.

“This year, they elected to go to Trinity Catholic School and the parishes in Norfolk, Canton and Morristown,” Morrison said. “I can’t say enough about how well everyone did. They did not hesitate in giving answers. They gave good, clear answers. It was clear what we’re saying in the policy is what we’re doing in the field.”

The third day of the audit is for records review and wrapping up, Morrison said.

“They make sure our records are well maintained,” he said. “They make sure we have background checks on file for all the people we say we do. They want to make sure we have good records of all trainings conducted. They also do an exit interview with Bishop (Terry R. LaValley).”

Morrison said he is grateful to all the stakeholders who help ensure the diocese is doing all it can to protect youth and others from abuse.

“I can’t thank the pastors, principals, employees and volunteers enough,” he said. “They’re the backbone of our compliance.”

While the diocese was found to be in compliance with the charter and existing Safe Environment Policies, Morrison noted more work will be done on the policies in the future.

“Our policy is due to be reviewed and, if necessary, revised every five years,” he said. “The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a subcommittee that’s been working on revisions to the Charter. Those revisions will be presented to the U.S. bishops at one of their upcoming assemblies. It could be in November of this year, or it could be next year. Once those revisions occur, we’ll take a close look at them and see what we need to change to ensure our policy aligns with those revisions. If that hasn’t been done by November of 2025, I’ll make a recommendation to the Review Board that we wait until those revisions are made to review our policy, unless they see some need for immediate change.”

Morrison said he feels the continuous work to monitor and improve Safe Environment policies and the Charter is a testament to the Church’s commitment to preventing and responding to abuse.

“We’ve made huge progress since the implementation of the Charter,” he said. “Are we to the point where there are zero allegations in the U.S.? No. And one allegation is too many. But we’ve made substantial progress, and we’ve continued to move in the right direction and worked to not fall into the trap of complacency. Our program continues to be preeminent in terms of what other organizations are doing around the nation.”

For more information about the diocesan Safe Environment Office and policies, visit https://www.rcdony.org/safe-environment.html.