The head of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) has said the Church has a long way to go before there is total compliance across its institutions with the standards set down in the guidance, Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Ian Elliot, CEO of the NBSCCCI, was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 following the publication of the findings of the second series of audits on child-safeguarding practices that covered four dioceses and, for the first time, three of the country's 162 religious congregations.
The four dioceses audited were Clonfert, Cork & Ross, Kildare & Leighlin and Limerick.
The three congregations audited were the Spiritans (Holy Ghost), Dominicans and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
While the dioceses of Cork & Ross, Limerick, and Kildare & Leighlin are commended for many of the safeguarding standards and practices they now have in place, Bishop John Kirby of Clonfert was criticised for his mismanagement of allegations of abuse against two priests from religious orders relating to the 1990s.
According to the NBSCCCI review of the Diocese of Clonfert, the allegations were, “inappropriately dealt with,” on account of Bishop Kirby’s attempt, “to manage everything himself.”
The report also criticised Clonfert, which is one of the smallest of the 26 dioceses in Ireland, with just 24 parishes, for not having a full written policy on safeguarding.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the head of Barnardos in Ireland, Fergus Finlay, roundly condemned Bishop Kirby’s explanation for his decision in the 1990s to move two priests accused of abuse.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio, Bishop Kirby acknowledged it was a, “grave mistake,” and in one case he said he thought it was a friendship that had gone wrong and that moving the priest would remedy the situation.
He explained that he was, at the time, unaware of the recidivist nature of paedophilia and that following a second allegation he took the priest out of ministry.
Asked if he had considered resigning over his mishandling of these cases, the Bishop said it would be a resigning matter now because guidelines were in place but there were no guidelines in place at the time.
However, Fergus Finlay of Barnardos dismissed Bishop Kirby's explanation.
"To say that people, and in particular bishops, could be innocent of the recidivist and insidious nature of paedophilia strikes me as childish, puerile, infantile. To offer it as an excuse for the abuse of children … I don't know how the man can still be in office, I just don't," Finlay added.
On RTÉ Radio, Ian Elliot described himself as, “shocked and disappointed,” by the poor practice of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) on child safeguarding and the handling of allegations of abuse.
The review of safeguarding practice within the MSC began in August 2011 but was suspended after a day when it emerged admissions by some members of the congregation to child abuse had not been reported to the Gardaí nor the HSE, and that the newly appointed provincial and his team were unaware of the content of case files.
This, “worrying situation,” meant that as recently as July 2011, the MSC was not reporting allegations to the civil authorities as demanded under safeguarding protocols.
In its findings, the NBSCCCI found that the case files for the MSC record a total of 17 alleged perpetrators within the Society. The total number of victims has not been established and is continuing to grow as new complaints are received.
Of these 17 alleged perpetrators, nine had made admissions to the abuse to varying degrees.
One of these has died and three others have left the Society. In some cases, when asked if they had abused a child, the perpetrators not only confirmed that they had, but added the names of other children that they could also recall abusing.
“There is no record that any of this critical information was passed on to the Garda Síochána or to the HSE. There is also little evidence that any appropriate preventative actions were taken by the Society in respect of some of these members,” the safeguarding review states.
The audit also highlights that gaps are present within the MSC files, “that make it difficult to understand why an alleged perpetrator, who was taken out of ministry at one time, was then allowed back into ministry at a later date.”
Elsewhere, the audit notes that there is also at least one example of critical information about a priest who had admitted to abusing children at a school, not being passed on to another Church authority for whom he was intending to work.
The lack of pastoral care and compassion for the victims of abuse is criticised.
The report notes that, “It is not clear from the case records that sufficient attempts were made to respond to victims in a pastoral way."
It adds that there is a reference within the records to the need to, “respond robustly to any allegation and communicate a willingness to resist any claims made by victims.” This response was experienced by victims as uncaring and aggressive.
“It is difficult to express adequately the failure of this Society to effectively protect vulnerable children. Their actions indicate a disregard for the suffering of victims and a misunderstanding of the nature of the problem within the Society,” the NBSCCCI review finds.
The audit of Cork & Ross highlights concerns three priests retiring to that diocese from dioceses in the Britain who had convictions for child abuse prior to moving to Cork.
The NBSCCCI report states that information on the status of these priests was not as forthcoming as it should have been from their home dioceses in the UK, which resulted in a lack of awareness of potential risk.
These cases, the National Board states, show the importance of all priests having a current celebret, which acts as a, “licence to minister,”’ for priests who are in good standing.
The audit of the Spiritan congregation examined the cases of three priests who were found to be serial abusers.
In total, allegations were made against 47 members of the Irish province from 1975 to April 2012.
The NBSCCCI review pays tribute to a provincial who took up his post in 1994 and who removed members of the congregation from ministry who were believed to have caused harm to children.
However, previous provincials kept men in ministry even after being informed of abuse and some of these men went on to abuse again. In some instances, priests and/ or brothers were moved either out of the country or to other ministries, where they continued to abuse children.
The report finds that abuse could have been prevented if the congregation had responded to the information that was available at the time to them regarding the risk to children. It also suggests that other victims may yet come forward.
One prolific abuser, Father A, abused 28 children between 1968 and 1993. He was not removed from ministry until 1996.
In its review of the Diocese of Limerick, the NBSCCCI states that it is very apparent that the continued absence of a bishop is not helpful either to the clergy or to the 170,000 people across 60 parishes in the diocese.
Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, as well as Bishop Jim Moriarty of Kildare & Leighlin, resigned in the wake of the publication of the 2009 Murphy Report into the Archdiocese of Dublin where they served as auxiliaries during the period of time investigated.
Bishop Murray, the NBSCCCI report states, “has been credited with putting in place in the diocese robust safeguards and prompt responses to allegations of abuse.”
"Prior to Bishop Murray, practice was very poor and in our view, in one case potentially dangerous. There is documentary evidence relating to a former bishop, whilst apparently having knowledge of a priest’s abusive behaviour in England, giving faculties to him to minister in Limerick, where it is believed he may have gone on to abuse again."
The audit dealt with complaints received from 1975 to the present. Some complaints refer back to the 1940s. Since 1940, over 500 hundred priests ministered in the diocese and 26 of these were the subject of complaints, 18 of whom were priests of the Limerick diocese.
The diocesan statistics suggest that most allegations relate to the abuse having taken place in 1960s, 70s and 80s. The last known date of abuse having taken place was in 1994.
Allegations are still being notified, with the most recent being brought to the attention of the diocese in January 2012.
The report commends the interagency meetings organised by the Limerick Diocese, which was a recommendation of the Ferns Report.
“This is the first time NBSCCCII has seen them work so successfully and would commend both the diocese and the local HSE and An Garda Síochána for ensuring that they are productive meetings which focus on safeguarding children and management of risk.”