Youngstown Diocese complies with rules, official says

The diocese expects it will soon be audited on compliance as planned.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown says it is complying with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' efforts to curb sex abuse by priests.
Though the local scene is calm, the conference was to gather today in St. Louis amid more controversy.
The bishops last year approved new policies to curb sex abuse, including a national survey to determine the extent of the problem.
Earlier this week, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating resigned as chairman of the National Catholic Review Board that was created by the bishops.
Keating compared the action of some bishops to organized crime in not providing information for the board's survey.
Some bishops had feared that the information might expose dioceses to more lawsuits.
But Nancy Yuhasz, diocesan chancellor, said, "We will be sending that information in."
The diocese sent in one page of statistics on sex abuse cases "a couple of months ago," said Yuhasz. The additional information is more lengthy and more time consuming to gather, she added.
In response to other directives from the bishops' conference, the diocese created a panel of lay people to help the diocese revise its child protection policy.
The bishops' conference also created auditors who will check whether each diocese is in compliance, such as with the lay panel and protection policies.
The diocese expects the auditors will soon be here, said Yuhasz. She said she did not know the exact date.
The bishops had planned to only briefly discuss the scandal during their meeting.
Tobin to go on pilgrimage
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the six-county Youngstown diocese won't be attending the meeting. He'll be leading a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal starting next week as part of the diocese's 60th anniversary.
No new abuse cases have surfaced locally since last year.
Three similar lawsuits based on allegations that surfaced in 2002 against priests when they were part of the Youngstown diocese continue to move through the courts.
The first case contends that two brothers, Thomas and Vince Casey of Austintown, were repeatedly abused when they were children by Monsignor Robert Reidy, who retired last year.
In the second case, Steven M. Catalano of Columbus, Eric Sanderbeck of Louisville and David Bernard of Paris, Ohio, contend they were abused as children by the Rev. Jack Hammer. Father Hammer was a priest in the Youngstown diocese who later became a priest in the Diocese of Saginaw in Michigan.
In the third case, a man whose identify was sealed by the court contends he was molested as a child. That lawsuit was filed against the Rev. Robert Burns, a Youngstown priest who later transferred to Boston. Burns was later sent to prison in New Hampshire for abuse and defrocked.
All three cases were filed by Atty. Michael Marando. Though lawyers for the priests and the diocese have argued the statute of limitations has expired, Marando has argued it has not.
The first case is set for a mediation hearing Sept. 30 and for trial April 26, 2004, before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
In the second case, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum ruled that the statute of limitations had not expired since Father Hammer left Ohio. That case is set for trial in July 2004.
Judge Jack Durkin has not set a trial date for the third case.
wilkinson@vindy.com