The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) later today is expected to announce its selection of Kathleen McChesney the FBI’s highest-ranking woman as Director of its Office of Child and Youth Protection. McChesney, who has served the FBI since 1978 and is currently the Executive Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Services, recently received the National Center for Women and Policing Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring her “commitment to improving the quality of law enforcement and advancing women’s leadership and participation.”
As Director of the Office for Child and Youth Protection, McChesney will oversee enforcement of the USCCB’s sex abuse policy (to be voted on next week), including a yearly publication listing all non-complying dioceses. In addition, the Office will work with bishops to develop programs for abuse prevention. Illinois appellate judge and vice chair of the National Review Board, Justice Anne Burke said McChesney was a clear choice among more than 50 applicants. “Kathleen rose to the top almost instantly She’s trained on how to be an impartial factfinder and to present evidence and that was big,” she told the Associated Press.
