Dioceses won't perform background checks (on anyone working with children)

LOS ANGELES - The Roman Catholic dioceses of Los Angeles and Orange County have backed away from a promise to conduct fingerprint background checks on anyone working with children, saying they don't want to lose volunteers who are illegal immigrants.

The dioceses had pledged to do the fingerprint background checks as a way to prevent pedophiles from working with children. But church leaders said the background checks could prevent illegal immigrants from volunteering, since they lack government-issued photo IDs, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Instead, volunteer candidates without photo IDs in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are allowed to give a sworn affidavit stating that they have not been convicted of any crime, officials said. In Orange, they can provide a sworn affidavit and two character reference letters.

They'll be supervised whenever they're working with children, officials said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060622/ap_on_re_us/church_abuse_fingerprinting

wasn't such a bad idea afterall.
:hide:

Using some verifiable form of Mexican ID might also work with proper safeguards
for confidentiality. The dioceses need to try harder. Church supervision
doesn't have the best of track records. They need something they can verify,
possibly in cooperation with state public safety agencies.

edited for clarification

Free Kids to Molest, Pedophiles and Perverts Welcome, No Credit or Background Checks

Are the ones most likely to sodomize the children

Statistically the highest rates of child sexual abuse in church setting come from volunteers and specifically what are called non-official vounteers. These people come forth unbidden and make a position for themselves, they like to work alone with no supervision.

Sexual abuse of children is rampant across all segments of our society. Gym teachers, coaches and band dirctors have a higher rate of perpetrators then other teachers, youth directors at churches and ministers, whether Catholic or not. What made the priestly abuse in the Catholic Church stand out is the perceived monolithic quality of the church and the cover ups. When the abuse occurs in a school district or a non denominational church it seldom makes even regional news.

A priest is a man of GOD.

Who should keep his penis in his pants

And not in a little boys #@&^%

I don't care who the adult is that abuses a child it is dead wrong and the school districts and non denominational churches are just as culpable in spreading this cancer instead of dealing with it upfront and with the police. Because of the structure of the Catholic Church is stands out stronger but the problem is well represented in all areas where adults have authority over youth and children.

The priest has made vows of celibacy and obedience to his bishop. Celibacy is to not be married. Chastity requires no vow as it is the requirement of all. We are to be chaste to our station in life. So if you take a vow of celibacy then it follows that you do not have sex and you never ever violate the trust that has been put in you.

What if the "minor" is a young adolescent, not a 6 year old? What if the relationship with the 15 year old is "consensual." (Oops that "age of consent" concept gets in the way.) What if the relationship involves some other sort of contact than the one you obsess about? What if the victim is female? What if the molester is a woman & the minor is a boy?

None of the above is OK in my book.

But you're a bit obsessive about anal sex. Are you just as disgusted if 2 consenting adults do it?

will show up in the parish as a long time pedofile
from someone elses parish- And the neverending
cycle goes on and on...

will have background checks run?

Logically speaking, no; but stipulating that without such IDs have a procedure, without saying the procedure applies to everybody (when that would be a much bigger story), makes you wonder.

Also seems that the +/- photo ID requirement is a cover for immigration status/citizenship; most citizens will probably have one, few non-citizens here illegally.


Edited to account for a few more classes of people.

Back in the 80s when my youngest went to Catholic school I volunteered and was fingerprinted, also a background check was done. This was the principal of the school who insisted on this, which was alright by me. While I was there a male teacher whose wife was a teacher also was accused of looking down the blouses(uniforms were worn) of two 8th grade girls. There was no excusing as far a the principal was concerned, he was fired on the spot, but his wife remained on staff. I guess it is left up to those in charge of each school, which is different at each school.

what if someone earns the trust of a child s/he works with and approaches the child outside of volunteer hours?

The diocese is asking for more lawsuits.

We have a good-sized Latino and immigrant population here, and we all have to get background checks to be in the school much at all--and every family's required to put in at least 25 volunteer hours every year. We also had to do special training on how to spot abuse and make sure that everyone's safe.

Maybe that's why it's not a problem.

We have many migrant workers in this area who have made it their home base. There are even more to the west of us closer to the bigger orchards. I don't know who's "legal" and "illegal," and I don't see it as my business.

attend a workshop on sexual boundaries, and all lay employees are required to go through a background check. (Prospective priests get background checks and psychiatric exams before ordination.)

except as future contributors to their coffers, and vehichles for child bearing. Keeps the membership growing.

children, and the other to helping illegal immigrants. They're trying to figure out how to do both.

They just don't get it.

At our parish, the official complaint for some time now is that they're not making their budget each year like they used to. They don't understand why - or at least it seems as though they don't. Yet you go outside in the parking lot or at mothers' meetings at the school and you hear it - lots of us pulling away from the collection plate because of the widely-voiced suspicion that our donations are going toward settlements with families of abuse victims. That, and the big new cathedral downtown that people refer to as the "Taj Mahony."

boundaries and two adults present at all times. I read a children's version of the Gospel Sunday during Mass. We are downstairs with the doors open for about 10 minutes, usually with other volunteers in the adjacent kitchen. If we don't have two adults to go downstairs, the kids stay upstairs that week; no exceptions.

and protecting illegal immigrants, children lose. Interesting set of priorities.

A pervert will have NO problem giving a sworn affidavit that the moon is made of green cheese if it means they get to molest more kids...

Have they not learned ANYTHING? :grr: