Local Catholic Clerics To Be Fingerprinted For Child Protection Act

PITTSBURGH (KDKA)- Local Catholic clerics and volunteers were summoned to an office to have their fingerprints recorded, but they're not suspected criminals.

Quite the opposite as each is an employee of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, most of whom have never even been suspected of committing a crime.

"Oh, because we have to keep predators away from children. And you can't tell a predator by the way they look. They look like you and me," said Phyllis Haney, Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese.

Under the state's new Child Protection Act, all clergy and diocesan employees who have any contact with children must undergo criminal background checks and have their fingerprints taken. Even unpaid volunteer teacher aids and catechism teachers, unless they've been a state resident for more than 10 years.

"There's nothing more important for parents to know that they're not putting their child in harm's way and we need to do everything we can to respect that trust," Bishop David Zubik added.

The prints will be sent to the FBI and run against a database of criminals. If the employees and volunteers have no hidden criminal history, the FBI will certify their fit to serve and keep the prints on file.

Zubik knows that some might object to being fingerprinted, but says the diocese must go the extra mile given the church child abuse scandals that rocked the public's trust.

"Where you know the Ozzie and Harriet generation was able to trust anyone anywhere, that's not so now, and I think we have to be on our toes to provide the best environment that we can."

After being fingerprinted, Wayne Boettcher, the diocesan director of financial services, says he doesn't see the need for anyone to resist.

"If there's something out there they're trying to hide, this should catch it. If they don't have anything to hide, I don't see any problem with doing it."

While the diocese isn't happy about instituting these new security measures, gone are the days it can rely on a person's moral character as a matter of faith.

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