Diocese of
Sacramento, California
The Diocese of Sacramento (“the Diocese”), which was established on May 28, 1886, encompasses 20 counties in central and eastern California. It consists of 98 parishes and 42 missions, 177 diocesan priests, 110 deacons, 54 schools, and serves a population of 510,099 registered Catholics. The Most Reverend William Weigand, who was installed on January 27, 1994, leads the Diocese. A compliance audit of the Diocese was conducted during the period of June 30–July 4, 2003.

The information set forth herein represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of the audit. Information regarding necessary and recommended corrective actions taken by the Diocese after the audit will be found in the last paragraph.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Diocese has established an outreach program, which is effectively administered and is providing excellent care to victims/survivors. This resulted in a Commendation. The bishop, or his designee, has met or offered to meet with victims/survivors of abuse in the Diocese who reported the abuse after June 2002. The pastoral care coordinator is Nancy Milton, who is enthusiastic about and well qualified for the position. The diocesan review board was established in April 2002 and consists of 12 members who are of varied cultures, experiences, and backgrounds. The procedures for making a complaint of abuse are readily available in printed form and are the subject of periodic announcements. There have been no confidentiality agreements entered into by the Diocese since June 2002.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Diocese has established effective liaison with civil authorities, ensuring an open dialogue regarding sexual abuse allegations. The Diocese has been very cooperative with authorities in all facets of this requirement. A procedure to advise victims/survivors of their right to report allegations of abuse by a member of the clergy to civil authorities is in place. A clear and well-publicized code of conduct for priests and deacons has been established. The Diocese has a communications policy reflecting a certain openness concerning matters of the sexual abuse of children.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Diocese has participated in the research study regarding the “nature and scope” of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

To Protect the Faithful in the Future
The Diocese has an extensive prepared package of information and training tools that is used for safe environment training of both children and adults. The Diocese has published standards of conduct for priests and deacons, as well as for diocesan employees, volunteers, and any other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children. The Diocese has an interim protocol for fingerprinting and background check procedures and is working to find ways to manage the huge numbers of volunteers, including parents. The sheer volume is creating backlogs. The Diocese has not transferred any priest or deacon who has had a credible allegation of sexual abuse made against him to another ministerial assignment, or for purposes of residency in another diocese. A priest who was on administrative leave from another diocese was hired by a pastor within the Diocese of Sacramento to direct a parish function during 2003. This was done before the Diocese received notification/confirmation of the priest’s status. An Instruction was issued to formulate a policy to prevent this from occurring in the future. The bishop has met on an ad hoc basis with the provincials and superiors of religious orders. The bishop has met with other faiths regarding the conduct of research in the area of sexual abuse of minors, but no opportunities have presented themselves for such study. The Diocese has established a screening and evaluation program for the selection of candidates for ordination and has a systematic, ongoing formation program.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of this audit, the Diocese of Sacramento was issued one Instruction, one Recommendation, and one Commendation.

INSTRUCTION—The Diocese should formulate a policy to prevent priests from other dioceses from performing duties in the Diocese of Sacramento without prior approval of the bishop.

RECOMMENDATION—That the Diocese establish a policy of acknowledging and responding to every complaint, and that these communications be maintained for easy retrieval.

COMMENDATION—For the Diocese’s exceptional service to victims/survivors of sexual abuse.

As of December 1, 2003, the Instruction and Recommendation had been addressed. The Diocese of Sacramento is found to be compliant with the provisions of the Charter as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 in Section I.


The compliance audit measured activity that has occurred since the adoption of the Charter in June 2002 with the exception of certain mandated actions found in Articles 5 and 14. Actions taken by the diocese/eparchy prior to June 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons are not included in this summary report.




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Office of Child and Youth Protection
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
(202) 541-5413 | FAX: (202) 541-5410
Email: ocyp@usccb.org