Lengthy new background checks for Catholic Church volunteers have caused some grumbling.

But the Butler County Deanery, the countywide organization of Catholic churches undertaking the checks, says volunteers are complying with the rules.

The checks were mandated nationally by the church. The Diocese of Pittsburgh has estimated more than 30,000 checks will be done on volunteers in its member parishes.

In the diocese, more than 11,000 volunteers have already completed the applications. The diocese is covering the $7 fee for all applications completed by July 31.

Nationally, 1.6 million staff and volunteers have been screened. To address privacy concerns, the diocese opted to save the data collected with a security company in Austin, Texas.

The checks so angered some volunteers in Pittsburgh that they quit their positions. They complained that the checks didn't address the issue of sex abuse and invaded the privacy of those who often had little contact with children.

In Butler County, there have been a few complaints about the process, but most parishes contacted believe their volunteers are complying.

At St. Gregory Roman Catholic Church in Zelienople, the Rev. Robert Miller said the church informed parishioners of the requirements through its weekly bulletin. The church designated an administrator to handle the applications and questions.

Miller estimated that a couple of hundred volunteers must do the paperwork. He said he's personally received just one complaint from a volunteer who didn't have any contact with children.

"People are really just a little apprehensive giving their personal data," he said.

Even before the new rules were instituted, employees of the churches and diocese were required to have state background checks.

The Rev. Daniel Maurer of Holy Sepulcher Roman Catholic Church in Middlesex Township said the now-required federal check is longer.

"The thinking is that young people see these people on a regular basis and know these people at church. There's that form of trust there. That's the new charge that's affecting the level of clearance," said Maurer.

The Rev. James Murphy of St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church in Butler said more than 400 people in his parish will undergo the new checks.

The parish also has a coordinator to help parishioners through the process.

Murphy said with anything new there's always some apprehension, but people understand why the checks are necessary.

He said the change has been difficult for older parishioners who have never had to undergo such screening.

Some St. Fidelis parishioners have also welcomed the initiative.

"Some people have said, 'Thank God we have this,'" said Murphy, explaining that they feel their children are now safer.

Despite the diocese's efforts, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests does not support the move to run background checks on volunteers.

Barbara Blaine, the group's founder and president, said the church should instead hold bishops responsible for the offenders who have been allowed to remain in the ministry. She said a few people have reported molestation by volunteers, but it pales in comparison to the number who reported abuse by clergy.

Church Mutual Insurance, a company that insures 96,000 congregations, urges running criminal background checks on volunteers. It advises its clients that 50 percent of sexual abuse cases in religious institutions involve volunteers.

David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said volunteers are a risk group. But he said there is no evidence that such screening protects children.

"Most of the people who abuse kids do not have records, so the vast majority of people are not going to be removed from the risk pool," Finkelhor said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.