FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – The Catholic Diocese of Fresno is cooperating with church wide investigations into abuse, churchwide.
Since May of this year, the Diocese of Fresno, along with five others, has cooperated on a voluntary basis as the Attorney General’s Office examines the practices and procedures that seek to protect the children entrusted to the care of schools, churches and programs.
Teresa Dominguez, Chancellor for the Diocese of Fresno, in a statement released Friday, Dec 6, 2019 said they learned that the Attorney General’s Office will issue subpoenas to all of the dioceses as part of an ongoing review.
An abundance of time and resources has already been dedicated to this high-priority undertaking and we will continue to do so until the process comes to completion and accomplishes its goal. To verify that safeguards are effectively in place and are being appropriately implemented to ensure the safety of our children and young people is crucially important and a shared interest.
In September, the Catholic Diocese of Fresno and five others unveiled a compensation program for child abuse victims of priests.
“It is sad at how some within our church community and certainly some who have worn the collar have hurt others,” said Most Reverend Joseph V. Brennan, Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, in September.
In the statement released on Friday, Bishop Brennan said the review by the Attorney General’s Office is a welcomed process.
“I am committed to fully cooperating with the Attorney General’s examination to the best of our ability in accordance with the law. In the first stage of this process, a high volume production of material relevant to our policies and procedures was provided by the Diocese of Fresno to demonstrate our significant commitment to the law and the Charter of Protection of Children and Young People promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. To now undergo a review by the Attorney General’s Office is a welcomed process that will help us to advance efforts towards greater transparency; to further learn from our past, scrutinize our current performance in implementing mandated reporting procedures; and, to continue to tirelessly pursue and develop all reasonable measures to protect the vulnerable in our midst.” – The Most Reverend Joseph V. Brennan, Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno.
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