Archdiocese Of New York Concludes Year-Long Review Into Child Sex Abuse Scandal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A special investigator has concluded her year-long review into how the Archdiocese of New York handled the child sex abuse scandal.
One year ago, Timothy Cardinal Dolan asked Barbara Jones to look into how the archdiocese responded. She discussed her findings and recommendations Monday, with the cardinal present.
The former federal judge and prosecutor said she and a team of lawyers reviewed the personnel files for every priest and deacon in the archdiocese.
"Every complaint is investigated, and no priest with a substantiated allegation of abuse of a minor remains in ministry," she told reporters.
Jones said all of the complaints received over the last several years involved alleged conduct from years, sometimes decades, ago. Most of the priest in question have since died.
She said there have only been two substantiated complaints of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in the archdiocese after 2002, and the archdiocese is effectively investigating each complaint.
WATCH: Judge Announces Findings, Recommendations Of Archdiocese Review
Jones recommended the archdiocese hire someone whose sole responsibility is to oversee sexual abuse complaints. She also wants more enhanced investigations, including interviewing more people in person and visiting locations of alleged abuse.
Additionally, she recommended technological advancements, including using an electronic management system to track every sexual abuse complaint the archdiocese receives from first report through final resolution.
In a release, Jones said the archdiocese has taken "meaningful steps to support victim-survivors of sexual abuse," but some of its protocols are "hindered by a paper filing system that can be susceptible to mistakes."
"The [Office of Priest Personnel] could perform its functions more effectively with better technology," she added.
Dolan spoke about the crisis last September when he first introduced Jones.
"Many of our people and our priests are calling it the 'summer of hell,'" he said, citing the scandals of Theodore McCarrick and "the nauseating details of the Pennsylvania grand jury of horrific abuse of minors by priests in the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s."
At Monday's announcement, the cardinal said he was anxiously awaiting the report results.
"I've held my breath and now I'm very grateful and very relieved. Thank you, judge," he said. "You've also given us stuff to work on."
CBS2's Cindy Hsu spoke with Mary McKenna, a local member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who said she thinks the archdiocese is still not being transparent and these types of incidents are still happening today.
Click here to read more of the judge's findings and recommendations.
McKenna said she watched the press conference, and wasn't impressed, adding her own parish priest on Long Island abused children.
"I've seen people destroyed by child sexual abuse, people in my life," McKenna said.
She said the Archdiocese hiring its own investigator is not transparent.
"I don't understand why he thinks it's OK to have an in-house person look over his files," McKenna said of Cardinal Dolan. "How about Letitia James looking over his files, the attorney general, if he wants to be so transparent."
McKenna said the Catholic Church would have more credibility if it released the names of accused priests and stopped fighting alleged victims in court.
"Stop hiring high-powered lawyers against victims. A lot of times victims don't have any money," she said. "Their lives are shattered. They don't have the ability to hire high-powered lawyers."
McKenna said she believes the church is protecting its assets instead of its children.