For the 17th time since the inception of national diocesan audits seventeen years ago, the Diocese of Allentown has been found “in compliance” with the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the Bishops of the United States in 2002.
For this audit, the Diocese submitted data to StoneBridge Business Partners, a Rochester, NY firm contracted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to conduct compliance audits of the nation’s 195 Dioceses. The Allentown Diocese provided all the requested information, which the auditors confirmed.
Among the data the Diocese reported to the auditors: 17,330 students currently enrolled in Catholic schools in the Diocese or in parish religious education programs have received Safe Environment training, as have 285 priests, deacons and candidates for ordination. More than1,000 teachers in Diocesan schools, more than 2,300 employees of the Diocese or its parishes across five counties and almost 6,500 volunteers at schools, parishes and Diocesan facilities, also received that training. Except for the students, all of those people have also undergone background checks.
Diocese of Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert was pleased with the results. “That independent auditors have once again found the Diocese of Allentown in compliance with the Church’s rigorous standards demonstrates the Diocese’s priority in protecting children,” he said. “I am grateful to the clergy, religious, and lay adults who work each day to make our parishes, schools, institutions, and programs a safe environment in which to experience the love of Christ.”
