Late last month Bishop Gomez and I took part in the semi-annual U.S. bishops' meeting in St. Louis. This week I'd like to share with you my thoughts on that meeting and what it means for the future.

A year ago in Dallas, sexual misconduct problems in the Church were the leading national story. A lot's happened in the world since then, and the media this June had other issues to divide their attention. But for the U.S. bishops, St. Louis was an important next step in addressing the sexual misconduct tragedy.

In 2002, the bishops were seeking a unified response to a crisis that had national gravity but took very different forms in different dioceses. This year our task was to ensure an honest, consistent follow-through on the commitments we made in Dallas. Every bishop in St. Louis rededicated himself to rooting out sexual abuse from the Church and to pursuing the steps needed to ensure that.

The Archdiocese of Denver will fully cooperate with the National Review Board set up to oversee adoption of the 2002 Dallas Charter and the upcoming annual audit of diocesan conduct policies. To that end, the archdiocese hosted a regional meeting earlier this spring of bishops, their senior staffs and a team from the U.S. bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection, including its executive director, Kathleen McChesney.

Ms. McChesney outlined the audit procedures, highlighted some diocesan "best practices" already in place and answered many practical questions. The spirit of that meeting was very positive, and the bishops who took part came away impressed by the professionalism of everyone involved in the audit process. The McChesney team and dioceses around the country share a common goal in the wake of the 2002 scandal — ensuring the safety of young people and creating a national model of right conduct for other religious communities and secular organizations.

The Archdiocese of Denver has had an effective sexual misconduct policy in place for more than 12 years. We take it very seriously, we enforce it, we fully cooperate with civil authorities, and we'll continue to work to make it even more effective. Last year, in light of the Dallas Charter, we reviewed and updated our policy (available on the Web at www.archden.org). I invited your comments then, and I do again now. Over the past decade, the policy has served our local Church well, but it's also a living document. Whatever adjustments are appropriate to make it even better in the coming years, we will gladly make.

In May this year, we added new force to our policy with the appointment of Ms. Nancy Walla as special advisor on this matter. Ms. Walla will oversee the development of safe environment programs and codes of conduct throughout the archdiocese, and ensure our on-going compliance with the Dallas Charter and its audit process. She'll work closely with Msgr. Tom Fryar, vicar for clergy; Ms. Barbara Buchanan, director of human resources; Mr. Richard Thompson, acting director of Catholic schools; and Mr. Sean Dalton, director of youth ministry, to make sure we follow through on the commitments we make.

Ms. Walla is an attorney with extensive experience in health-industry compliance issues before coming to the archdiocese. She knows the Church, she strongly supports the Dallas Charter, and she understands the law. She'll serve our people well in a vital area.

In the coming months, I'll continue to keep you informed about our audit process and issues relating to our conduct policies. The Church's top priority, now and always, is to preach Jesus Christ and lead people to salvation in his name. To do that, we need to witness the sanctity of the human person in all our actions, including the policies that protect our families and young people. We never forget that, and we never will.

All incidents of child abuse, including the sexual abuse of young people, should be reported immediately to the civil authorities. In addition, allegations of sexual misconduct involving clergy or seminarians should be directed to Msgr. Tom Fryar, vicar for clergy and victims' assistance coordinator, at 303-715-3197. Allegations involving sexual misconduct by lay staff should be directed to Ms. Barbara Buchanan at 303-715-3193. Allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment in a Catholic school setting should be directed to Mr. Richard Thompson at 303-715-3166.