The allegations of sexual abuse by priests that have been making headlines elsewhere in the country have so far not been mirrored in this region.

“I would say that there are certainly no allegations against priests in the Lawrence-Douglas County area, and I would know,” said the Rev. Charles McGlinn, vicar general for priest personnel for the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

“I would just say that the priests of the archdiocese, including our archbishop (James P. Keleher), are tremendously saddened by the abuse that some priests (in the nation) have given to children in the past.”

The archdiocese that includes Lawrence encompasses 11 pastoral regions, 123 parishes and almost 200,000 Catholics.

“We have to be very, very vigilant. Our first priority has to be to make sure our young people are safe from any abuse by anybody. They are in our charge, and we have to take care of them,” McGlinn said.

“As far as the policies of this archdiocese on pedophilia, we have a zero tolerance level.”