Diocesan Review Board By-Laws
Composition of Board
The Diocesan Review Board, established by the Bishop, will be composed of at least five persons of outstanding integrity and good judgment in full communion with the Church. The majority of the Review Board Members will be lay persons who are not in the employ of the Diocese; but at least one member should be a priest who is an experienced and respected pastor of the Diocese, and at least one member should have particular expertise in the treatment of behavioral disorders associated with the sexual abuse of minors (cf. USCCB Essential Norms, #5).
Term of Office
The members will be appointed for a term of five years, which may be renewed for one additional term (cf. USCCB Essential Norms, #5).
Meetings
The Review Board meetings shall be scheduled quarterly or will occur as often as necessary to perform its duties. The meetings shall reflect the pastoral character of this process that is consultative and advisory, not adjudicative (cf. USCCB Essential Norms, #4).Duties
The Review Board shall have the duty to:
A. advise the Bishop in his assessment of accusations of sexual abuse of minors and in his determination of suitability for ministry of the accused;
B. review Diocesan policies for responding to accusations of sexual
abuse of minors,
C. offer advice on all aspects of these cases, whether retrospectively or prospectively
(cf. USCCB Essential Norms, #5).
Recommendations
The Review Board shall make recommendations to the Bishop regarding the following:
A. the credibility of an accusation of sexual abuse of a minor;
B. a plan of action for clerics whose conduct does not constitute sexual abuse of a minor but falls within the parameers of a boundary violation of a minor.
C. other recommendations that the Review Board considers beneficial as related to the sexual abuse of a minor.