Saturday, September 14, 2013

Church ‘lacked accountability’ in abuse cases

The Church in Scotland has not been properly accountable in its handling of clerical abuse, the Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia has said.

Reflecting on the abuse crisis that has engulfed the Scottish Church during his first year as Archbishop of Glasgow, he said the Church should "own up" over allegations that have been mishandled "even if it causes embarrassment to those in charge at the time."

His comments appear to contradict the views of his predecessor Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti, who said in a letter to The Tablet that the Church had been dealing effectively with allegations of clerical abuse.

In an interview with his diocesan newspaper, Flourish, Archbishop Tartaglia said: "I want the Church to be accountable to its own policies and accountable to the canon law of the Church and the civil law of the land."