Auditors to check dioceses on abuse policy

WASHINGTON (AP) --The National Review Board, a watchdog lay panel appointed by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops, will send auditors to every diocese to see if they are complying with the new sex-abuse policy the bishops adopted.
The audit will be conducted by the Gavin Group of Boston, a firm run by William Gavin, a former FBI director, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced.
More than 50 auditors will conduct the checks in the nation's 195 dioceses. Operating in teams of two, they will determine whether bishops have formed boards that include lay people to review sex-abuse claims, hired victim-assistance coordinators and started education programs meant to protect children from abuse.
The dioceses' policies and actions before the policy was adopted will not be part of the review.
The lay panel is also conducting a series of studies to determine the scope and roots of the crisis.