The Vatican has once again abrogated its responsibility for stamping
out abuse within the Catholic Church.
The long-awaited guidelines on
preventing clerical sex abuse and reporting suspect priests to police,
issued to bishop's conferences globally, fall far short of what is
needed.
The guidelines
leave the responsibility of responding to child sexual abuse within the
Church to bishops, who have 12 months to draw up their own rules for
enforcing the Vatican directive.
Historically, however, it is the Church
hierarchy, and specifically bishops, that on many occasions have failed
to bring perpetrators to justice or to ensure the safety of children
from alleged or known abusers.
Many victims in countries across the world have
repeatedly been denied the care and support they need. In many cases
compensation has been elusive and patently inadequate for the needs of
those victims.
And there appear to be no repercussions for bishops who fail to develop the guidelines or indeed for those who contravene them.
Given the decades of abuse perpetrated within the
Catholic Church by clergy and others for which there has been minimal
accountability having another year for bishops to draft their own
guidelines is a travesty.
The longer the Church fails to act decisively,
the longer innocent children remain at risk within its confines.
The National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in
the Catholic Church in Ireland has just revealed alarming statistics —
the number of allegations of child abuse at the hands of priests in the
Irish Church has increased by 38 per cent between April 2010 and March
2011.
In its 2010 annual report, the NBSSCC stated
that there had been 272 new allegations of abuse between April 2010 and
March 2011 as compared to 197 for the same period the previous year.
Twelve of the people against whom allegations have been made are still
practising priests.
The failure to remove priests under investigation
from their duties implies that children are potentially being exposed to
further risk within the Catholic Church in Ireland, at the very least.
While Pope Benedict has repeatedly apologised to victims,
more is needed. We need to see strict guidelines that are enforced
systemically.
Reporting of allegations to the police must be mandatory.
We need to see a zero tolerance policy, such as that in America in which
priests accused of the crime of child sexual assault are automatically
suspended subject to an investigation.
"Limiting the exercise of the cleric's ministry' – as is
suggested under the new guidelines is inadequate.
The words "limiting
the exercise" mean children could continue to be exposed to rape and
molestation at the hands of paedophile priests.
To adequately protect
children, all clergy under investigation, and ultimately all clergy
found guilty of child sexual assault must be removed from the ministry
and from any contact with children.
The onus has been placed on bishops to be alert to the
signs of abuse and to identify potential perpetrators. There appears to
be no real guidance as to how bishops should make these assessments.
The letter
also states that all cases deemed "credible" should be sent to the
Vatican to review. It stresses that lay review boards "cannot
substitute" the decisions of bishops.
Over the years we have seen far too many paedophile
priests moved from ministry to ministry, only to abuse more children as a
result. Similarly it is the bishops who have been charged to be
committed to the "spiritual and psychological assistance" of victims.
Again this falls way short of an obligation to provide victims of child
abuse with the ongoing therapeutic care and compensation needed for them
to begin to reclaim their lives.
Child sexual assault is not a problem particular to the
Catholic Church.
It is a societal issue that knows no religious, ethnic
or geographical boundaries.
However the Catholic Church has repeatedly
failed to adequately address abuse within its ranks.
The Church must draw on the collective knowledge of lay
experts, in developing and implementing strict child protection
guidelines.
It must show that it is accountable as an institution and
as a hierarchy. The Church, in common with other institutions, must
bring all perpetrators within its midst to civil justice.
Those found
guilty must be punished according to the laws of the country in which
they live.
Finally the Church must provide all victims, child and
adult, with the funds they need to receive ongoing professional care and
support for as long as they need it.
For only with the right care and
support survivors of child abuse have the possibility of working through
the impacts of their abuse and finding a life worth living.
Dr Cathy Kezelman is chief executive of Adults Surviving Child Abuse