Juneau Diocese orders independent review of allegations

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Diocese of Juneau has ordered an independent review of all sexual misconduct allegations involving people associated with the church.

The Juneau Empire reports Bishop Andrew Bellisario has assembled a commission of former judges and a retired police officer to review personnel files of all clergy since the diocese was established in 1951.

Dominique Johnson, director of communications for the diocese, says the investigation was not prompted by any specific allegations, noting that dioceses across the country have launched similar probes.

The Archdiocese of Anchorage launched a similar review in October.

The commission will begin its investigation next month and plans to wrap it up by June.

The commission is expected to produce a report that will include the names of all those implicated in credible sexual misconduct allegations.
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com