MANCHESTER (NH)
The Union Leader
By MARK HAYWARD
Union Leader Staff
MANCHESTER — All New Hampshire priests will have to undergo criminal background checks under a new policy on child sexual abuse that has been adopted by Bishop John B. McCormack and was released yesterday.
The policy calls for mandatory reporting of suspected incidents of child sexual abuse, yet information obtained during a Catholic confession would remain “inviolate,” a diocesan official said.
The policy also spells out inappropriate behavior, which although not sexual abuse, must be reported to church leaders. Such behavior ranges from giving compliments on a minor’s physique to sharing a bed with a child.
“That’s what this policy does — it tells what the signs are when something’s not right,” said Diane Murphy Quinlan, associate delegate of ministerial conduct for the diocese. “Michael Jackson would have a problem (with it).”
