The U.S. bishops have approved on-site audits this year of all U.S. dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies to monitor compliance with child sex abuse prevention policies.

The vote was 207-14 in favor with one abstention, according to a June 15 news release issued in Denver by the communications department of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The approval came after controversy as to whether some bishops wanted to postpone the 2004 audits.

The vote was taken during the bishops' June 14-19 closed-door spring meeting, held this year in the Denver suburb of Englewood.

The hierarchy also directed its all-lay National Review Board to prepare, in conjunction with the bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, proposals for a study on the causes and context of the clergy sex abuse crisis. The study is called for by the bishops' policies contained in the 2002 "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," but the financing has to be approved by the bishops.

The news release quoted Justice Anne M. Burke, interim chairwoman of the review board, as welcoming the bishops' vote.

"The National Review Board is pleased with the decision to move forward with the audits and to begin further research into the causes and context of these crimes," said Burke. "Working with the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, the National Review Board will continue to promote strong action to protect children and young people in the Church. The message is clear: Children will be safe from harm in the Catholic Church and the bishops and lay people will work on this together."

Prior to the decision, she had criticized some bishops for opposing the 2004 audits and seeking to delay a vote until November when it would be too late to conduct the audits for this year.

"Working with the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, the National Review Board will continue to promote strong action to protect children and young people in the church," said Burke, an Illinois Appellate Court judge.

"The message is clear: Children will be safe from harm in the Catholic Church and the bishops and lay people will work together on this," she said.

The USCCB news release said that the bishops also discussed whether in the future the audit process should be replaced by a regional oversight system based on the 14 regions into which the USCCB is divided. The bishops will discuss the audit procedures in their upcoming review of sex abuse prevention policies, said the release.

The charter allows for the development of regional monitoring procedures.

The review of the policies contained in the charter is scheduled for the bishops' meeting in November.

The 2004 audits will be the second yearly report on how dioceses and eparchies are complying with policies. The 2003 audits showed 90 percent compliance.

The bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection, which conducted the 2003 audits, has been directed to conduct this year's audits and any future national audits pending the outcome of the policy review.

Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis, chairman of the sexual abuse ad hoc committee, praised the vote as "a clear indication of our commitment to the charter and to the protection of children and young people."

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles concurred, saying that the audit vote "indicates that the bishops are serious about continuing the important task of making sure that our church is safe for everyone, especially for children and youth." Cardinal Mahony earlier had previously supported 2004 audits and said that opponents were a minority among the bishops.

Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the bishops, said that the bishops were also briefed on the procedure for replacing National Review Board members.

The spokeswoman said that the review board and Archbishop Flynn's committee are responsible for drafting a joint list of replacements with each of the potential nominees being vetted by the local bishop, as was the case in the original appointments.

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., USCCB president, will then present the names to the bishops' Administrative Committee in September for consultation before he appoints new members, said Sister Walsh.

The board originally had 13 members but one resigned and five others, including Burke, have announced their resignations before the end of 2004. Burke told Catholic News Service June 16 that they would remain on the board until replacements have been named.

---CNS