CHURCH WATCHDOG: SOME CATHOLIC Church leaders are
still not giving full commitment to implementing the best
child-protection practices, the head of the church’s watchdog on the
issue said last night.
Ian Elliott, chief executive of the
church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children, said “the vast
majority” of Catholic bishops and religious superiors were very much
committed” to implementing strong practices.
But “there are still a few
who have not yet arrived at that position”.
Mr Elliott said it was
“a changing situation” and expressed the hope “the tragedy of Cloyne”
would assist in this.
The board has completed an audit of
child-protection practices in three dioceses, he said, and “completed
the fieldwork” in three more.
Reports on these should be completed by
the end of this month, he said.
The findings of such
audits/reports can only be published with the permission of the relevant
bishop.
“The position of the board is that it strongly recommends that
the reports be published,” he said, and this was “actively being
discussed”.
The Irish Times understands a factor in the
reluctance on the part of some bishops to publish results of audits was
being influenced by their desire not to pressurise more reluctant
colleagues into doing so.
Where the Cloyne report was concerned,
Mr Elliott worried about the effect it was having on the thousands of
safeguarding volunteers across Ireland.
Their work was “very important
and very valued”, he said.