The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester has announced a groundbreaking agreement with the State Attorney General.
The Diocese agreed to cooperate extensively with the state--and in exchange the Attorney General won't prosecute the Diocese for child endangerment.
NHPR's Raquel Maria Dillon reports.
The settlement will head off criminal charges against the Diocese for failing to protect children from abusive priests.
Manchester Bishop John McCormack said the agreement represents a new day for the Diocese.
MCCORMACK :22 The church in New Hampshire fully acknowledges and accepts responsibility for failures in our system that contributed to the endangerment of children. We commit ourselves in a public and binding way to address every weakness in our structure.
County attorneys can still charge individual priests, but ? under the agreement ? the state will not prosecute the diocese or supervisors who make personnel decisions.
Priests and church employees will have to report any alleged abuse to law enforcement? if it happened long ago, or if the victim is still a minor.
The only exception is for any abuse revealed during a confession.
The Diocese?s personnel decisions and reporting will be subject to annual audits for the next five years.
And the personnel records subpoenaed in the course of the attorney general?s investigation will be opened to the public in several weeks.
Attorney General Philip McLaughlin was all set to call a special meeting of a grand jury on Friday, only a few days before he leaves office.
MCLAUGHLIN :09 the state gathered sufficient evidence to present to the grand jury one or more indictments against the Diocese of Manchester for endangering the welfare of children.
No Diocese has ever been indicted in the U-S before.
McLaughlin says for the purpose of protecting children, a settlement was better than a conviction.
MCLAUGHLIN :15 The great corrective process in this case is the release and digestion of original information. It speaks for itself when you view it, it doesn?t get viewed at all if we?re in the process of a criminal trial. So that was a balance we had to reach.
Church officials say the past year has turned up more abusive priests than they previously knew. But with a commitment to cooperate with law enforcement in writing, they say they?re in a better position to help victims. Bishop McCormack:
MCCORMACK :27 with the conclusion of the AG?s investigation of the diocese, we have a better ability to move forward with humility and faith. Horrific acts of sexual abuse by some priests have resulted in terrible harm to children and youth. I know that the pain of their abuse may remain with them for years, and that is why we are doing and will do all we can to bring the healing balm of Christ to their pain.
But one victim who was interviewed as part of the investigation says he?s not turning to the Church for help? Bob Gelinas (gel-AY-nes) called a lawyer.
GELINAS :09 The key thing is to protect children, what they?ve done now is quick versus some lengthy court battle.
Gelines claims he was abused when he was an altar boy, and he recently filed a suit against the Diocese. He says he won?t go in a Catholic Church anymore. And he tried to worship in Protestant churches, but it?s a struggle.
The Manchester Diocese released a fact sheet today about the sexual abuse allegations that have surfaced in the last year, and in previous years.
Since 1943, New Hampshire 52 priests have been accused of sexual misconduct or abuse. That?s about six percent of the total number of Catholic priests in the state ? about 800.
In the past year, 196 people have come to the diocese to make an accusation. There are currently at least 70 open lawsuits.
87 lawsuits were resolved in the last year, resulting in payments of more than six million dollars from the Diocese.
For NHPR News, I?m RMD.
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