c. 2003 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Sometimes things barely come to light even in an institution that has committed itself to “transparency and openness,” as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did in Dallas a year ago.

In an initial interview, Catholic philanthropy expert Francis J. Butler was pleased to relate that the bishops’ conference was requiring that Catholic dioceses disclose costs related to the sexual abuse scandal.

That requirement was part of a broader audit or review of policies and practices regarding abuse by clergy, said Butler, who heads a Washington-based organization, Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, which is independent of the bishops’ conference.

But Kathleen L. McChesney, director of a national review board set up by the bishops, said in an interview, “The audits don’t have anything to do with how much money is being spent” by the dioceses on abuse cases, including legal settlements.

There will be no disclosure. Instead, dioceses will be asked to volunteer information confidentially to researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, who are conducting a separate study commissioned by the review board, McChesney said.

From that study will eventually come an aggregate dollar figure for the entire country, but there will be no diocese-by-diocese accounting of costs, she said.

While acknowledging that a number of church observers were under the impression that disclosure would be required as part of the national audit, McChesney said it was probably just a misunderstanding on their part.

Butler, who was surprised to hear of McChesney’s comments, said in a follow-up interview, “That seems to be a change in policy.”

_ William Bole

DEA END BOLE