Bishop Jaime Soto reacts to news that CADOJ will issue subpoenas in ongoing compliance review

Bishop Jaime Soto issued the following statement today upon receiving word from the state Attorney General’s office that the AG will issue a subpoena for additional records in their ongoing review of diocesan compliance with mandatory reporting requirements in cases of suspected child abuse.

“Since May, our diocese, along with five others in California, has been involved in a voluntary effort with the California Attorney General’s office to provide documents related to mandated reporting of child sexual abuse.

“We share the Attorney General’s desire to conduct a thorough examination of the practices and procedures that seek to protect the children entrusted to our schools, churches and programs. Throughout this process, we have worked to accommodate the Attorney General’s requests while also following the laws governing the privacy rights of employees, abuse victims and mandated reporters.

“We have been informed this week that the Attorney General’s Office will issue subpoenas for additional records as part of this ongoing review. We believe this process will move us toward our shared goal of ensuring that the safeguards in place for our children are working as they should.

“We remain committed to cooperating with the Attorney General’s inquiry to the best of our ability and as fully as the law permits. Our diocese is committed to a full accounting of the past sins of clergy sexual abuse, and to doing all we can to ensure it never happens again.”