The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver has announced a new panel to investigate allegations of clergy misconduct that do not involve the sexual abuse of a child.

“I have noticed there has been a heightened call for greater transparency in the Church, especially as historical sins that have long been hidden in the shadows have recently been brought into the light,” wrote vicar for clergy Father R. Michael Dollins in the Denver Catholic. “Where is the line between being a trusted person who must keep something confidential, and a person who is involved in a cover-up?”

The Clergy Misconduct Advisory Committee will comprise senior priests, mental health professionals, those with law enforcement backgrounds, and finance specialists. All members will be Catholics

The panel will advise Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila after investigating the alleged misconduct. Dollins cited financial transgressions, addiction or inappropriate relationships as examples of matters in the CMAC’s jurisdiction.

He added that a standard of “reliable confidentiality” may be superior to transparency on cases of misconduct among priests and deacons.

“An organization that practices Reliable Confidentiality is able to strike a balance between an appropriate level of privacy for those involved in an issue, while at the same time, adequately reassuring those who are concerned about the same issue that a satisfactory response will occur,” Dollins wrote.

Mark Haas, the director of public relations for the Archdiocese, confirmed that the CMAC is a separate process from the Conduct Response Team, which handles allegations of child sexual abuse. In a report from October, former U.S. Attorney Robert Troyer found defects with the CRT’s operations as part of an examination of historical clergy abuse in Colorado’s three dioceses.

Troyer’s investigators noted that the members of the CRT are not independent of the church, are not experienced investigators, and that their interactions with victims may “impede reliable fact-finding.”

Haas said that the Archdiocese has created a task force to determine how to implement Troyer’s recommendations.