Does the Board interact with diocesan review boards throughout the United States?
There is generally no direct contact between the National Review Board and diocesan review boards. The functions of the National Review Board and the Diocesan Review Board are different in scope. The Charter requires that each bishop establish his own diocesan review board. The diocesan review boards are primarily concerned with examining instances of sexual abuse by a cleric and offering advice to the bishop on such cases. The National Review Board’s mandate is broader in scope, dealing with national policy issues, studies, recommendations to the body of Bishops and interaction with the Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.
