The head of the Catholic church's child protection unit has resigned ahead of the publication of an inquiry recommending sweeping changes in the way the church investigates abuse allegations.Eileen Shearer, the director of Copca - the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults in England and Wales, an independent body set up by the church five years ago - has resigned 'to pursue other interests in child protection', according to a statement.
The report, 'Safeguarding With Confidence', written by healthcare expert Baroness Cumberlege, will recommend 70 steps the church needs to take in the way it deals with allegations of sexual abuse.
Published today, it will suggest wide-ranging changes in the role of Copca and recommend that bishops play a much more central role in policing abuse allegations.
Shearer is understood to have had 'an enormous battle to engage with the church' over the issue of sexual abuse, according to one person familiar with Copca. 'It's been a tough journey and one that still needs making,' according to the source.
A spokesman for the Church denied Shearer's resignation was linked to the publication of the report. The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales also paid tribute to her role.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, president of the Bishops' Conference, said: 'Eileen Shearer's professional leadership has greatly enhanced the work of child protection professionals in the church.'
The Cumberlege report is expected to suggest the church needs to do more to combat abuse within the church. It comes five years after the church asked Lord Nolan to examine the way in which it investigates abuse following a series of scandals involving priests.
One of Nolan's recommendations was that the church should commission another report five years on to assess how it has performed.
A source said: 'The report will not say we have done fantastically well. It will assess whether the current system is still fit for purpose. The bishops will consider it carefully and will respond in November.'
The commission will recommend a series of changes. It will suggest priests are risk-assessed in a different way when they are subject to abuse allegations.
The biggest change, however, will be in the role of bishops, who will be told to take a central role in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Bishops who fail to fulfil their obligations will be made accountable to Rome under a recognizio, a Vatican order.
The move will be seen as an attempt to create a uniform system for investigating abuse allegations within the church, which in recent years has been rocked by abuse allegations and criticism that it has not taken allegations seriously enough.
Accusations of abuse are often 'dealt with' internally and the police are often not involved, critics say.
In the US the church has been the subject of multi-million dollar lawsuits. Pope Benedict XVI has pledged to exert his authority on the issue. But, following a series of high-profile scandals in Britain during the late Nineties, the issue has become less prevalent.
Last year British police investigated 41 allegations of abuse in the church, of which 24 resulted in no further action. A further 14 remain under consideration, three have resulted in a prosecution and one priest has been convicted.
Last night Shearer appeared to intimate the church still had some way to go in clamping down on abuse.
'I thank everyone I have worked with for their support and commitment and I pay particular tribute to the indispensable work - at all levels - of the 130,000 church volunteers,' she said in a statement.
'I wish all concerned throughout the church every success in the tasks that lie ahead.'
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