Dolan wants cross check
Cohen arbiter to eye clergy sex abuse
The Archdiocese of New York has hired the independent arbiter who handled the Michael Cohen case to review its procedures for dealing with clergy sexual-abuse allegations in response to the ongoing crisis.
Barbara Jones, a 16-year veteran of Manhattan’s federal court, is tasked with identifying any holes in how the archdiocese deals with accusations of abuse against a priest, deacon or bishop. She’ll have “complete access” to the church’s records and personnel, the archdiocese announced on Thursday.
“The cardinal has told me to leave no stone unturned,” Jones said, referring to Timothy Cardinal Dolan. “I would not have taken this assignment without those assurances.”
Jones, 71, said she’s already started her role as special counsel and independent reviewer of the archdiocese’s efforts going back over 25 years.
“Based upon this review, I certainly see a robust infrastructure in place with the archdiocese,” she said.
“But my job now will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing programs and policies in that infrastructure.”
Two years ago, the archdiocese, which oversees Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island, announced the creation of a victim-compensation fund that so far has paid out about $60 million.
Jones will look into that and other programs and also into the archdiocese’s policies on workplace harassment that impact adults, she said.
The retired judge finished her work on the Cohen case only about two weeks ago.
As a court-appointed special master, she identified which out of 4 million items seized in raids on President Trump’s former lawyer were subject to attorneyclient privilege.
The news of her appointment comes two weeks after New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced a com- prehensive investigation into how the Church handled abuse allegations across the state.
Dolan said the appointment came as Catholics in New York demanded “accountability, transparency and action” from Church leadership in light of this summer’s controversies.
He conceded that the past couple of months were a “summer of hell,” with the ouster of former Washington Archbishop Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, a bombshell Pennsylvania grandjury report and a controversy surrounding an archbishop’s letter calling on the pope to resign.
“If I lost the trust of my people and this community, I don’t have a lot left,” Dolan said.
“I’m praying that your careful review and hard questions will help my good people renew their trust in the Church they love and the leaders they want to believe,” he told Jones.
Jones, a former prosecutor, is also serving on a panel conducting a full-scale review of the NYPD’s discipline policies that was announced in June.