Two years later, one diocese's efforts to heal

When the Catholic sex-abuse crisis broke open in Boston two years ago, Tucson, Ariz., was already struggling with its own scandal. The local bishop, Manuel Moreno - so popular in the heavily Hispanic diocese that his photo could be found on restaurant walls - struggled to respond.

Under fire, he reached a major settlement with victims for an estimated $16 million. Then, he and his appointed successor, Bishop Gerald Kicanas, held open forums with angry parishioners. One of Bishop Kicanas's first steps when assuming the top job was a forthright public apology.

Despite the efforts, however, the Tucson diocese still faces at least 17 lawsuits over priest abuse, and some critics think church officials aren't doing enough to aid victims.

In many ways, Tucson's experience typifies the progress and pressures still confronting bishops and their flocks as they seek to prevent abuse in the future and restore trust within the church.

The first nationwide audit of all 195 dioceses, released Tuesday, shows that the vast majority - 90 percent - are in full compliance with a national plan adopted by the bishops to protect children.

Exceptions include the archdioceses of New York; Omaha, Neb., and Anchorage, Alaska. Many among the 10 percent have not yet responded to instructions for action given by the auditors.

The audit - conducted over the past year by former FBI agents - dealt only with actions taken since June 2002, when the national plan was adopted. The report recommends development of a long-term plan for accountability, and an external study of victims to provide better insights for future responses.

The auditors also said that annual audits should include the number of allegations, actions against priests, the number of victims, and financial costs.

"This will show the American people that the bishops have kept our word," said Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the US bishops conference, in a TV interview.

Yet some lay Catholics and victim advocates question the capacity of the audit itself to tell the true story of what is going on at the grass roots. "We're pleased to see dioceses implementing safety programs, ... but the audit process was simply glorified self-reporting," says Mark Serrano of Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP). "The auditors relied on information provided to them. We know of no top plaintiff attorneys who were contacted and only three of 4,600 SNAP members were consulted as a check."

Kathleen McChesney, who heads the bishops' youth office, says that auditors did speak with people outside the church. She's confident of the report's accuracy.

While the crisis has largely dropped from the front pages, many bishops continue to confront challenges. And the crucial long-term goal of restoring trust among the faithful and healing the hurt takes consistent effort.

Bishop Kicanas in Tucson has made that his first priority. In a step only one other bishop has been willing to take, he released a list of all the priests in the diocese (25) against whom credible allegations had ever been made. He has sent letters to parishes where the clerics served in order to help address the past.

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