SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- District attorneys from seven counties on Wednesday along with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse discussed the importance of having a formal procedure to be followed for incidents involving alleged sexual abuse of minors.
For years, the Roman Catholic Church has been plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct and the abuse of minors. It's a problem the church and law enforcement agencies have been working together to better tackle.
All said the Memorandum of Understanding is very short and precise. It ensures the Diocese acts as a reporter to inform the district attorneys about any alleged incidents first so they can handle the matter properly, and also so they can help gather the evidence.
The hope is that having this agreement in writing will encourage more victims to speak out.
"This is truly in the spirit of cooperation and guided by one principle - to deal with this issue effectively and justly, and most importantly, to make every effort to ensure that no child is harmed," said Bishop Robert Cunningham.
It's also a way to send a very clear message about incidents of alleged sexual abuse of minors.
"You tell us first before any decisions happen, and I think we are just putting that in writing and I think it's an important step going forward," said Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen.
"The worst thing that you can do is to tip off a potential predator. We would like an opportunity to question that person and obviously Mirandize him and see if he is willing to give us a statement," said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.
Although officials say they previously had a mutual understanding, this document is formally mandating the Diocese to act as a reporter for any incidents involving the clergy.
"If they learn about an allegation of sexual abuse, just as a teacher, doctor, other mandated reporters, now they are mandating of their employees that must be disclosed to the DAs office," said Fitzpatrick, who said this formalization is necessary.
"I wanted to make it absolutely clear they they now have to disclose that so that there's no misunderstanding no wiggle room, no, 'well we're going to do our own investigation.'"
The district attorneys and bishop said this memorandum builds on a verbal agreement they've had for more than 10 years and this document has been a work in progress for almost a year now.