Bishop Drennan formally launched the Child Protection Policy for the Diocese on Saturday 29 September 2007. This is the text of his address:
The Italian writer Primo Levi spent a year in Auschwitz at the end of World War II. He survived the ordeal. After the war ended he returned to his work as a writer.
Nearly 40 years later someone noticed his prison number still on his arm and asked why he had not removed it. He explained that he left it there because he wanted people never to forget what had happened, never to forget what some people are capable of doing.
His reminding people of the past would, he felt, strengthen their resolve never to let what happened in the concentration camps be repeated.
A further comment of his came as a surprise, If I had not been in such a place, I would perhaps be happier, but not so rich. His past had shaped him, formed him into a man of determination, a man of gratitude, richer because of what he had lived through.
Lessons had been learned, life had moved on and in him something had deepened. His message is that the price of freedom is continual vigilance.
He’s right.
Some learn from the past, some don’t.
Events of our past have led us to where we are today.
Like Primo Levi we have learned several lessons the hard way. We must never forget that the potential for abuse is still there in our society. If you happen to read the daily papers you’ll see reports regularly of cases in the courts.
To play our part in preventing abuse of any kind we need to be vigilant and put structures in place that maintain that vigilance at a high level. The more eyes that are alert the better for all of us.
What we are doing here is making public what we as a diocese are doing to make our parish communities safer places for our young people. These are our efforts at promoting transparency and vigilance.
For over a year we have two important committees in place.
The Child Protection Committee draws on expertise from several walks of life. That Committee spent several months working on a draft of the Policy Document that we are launching today. We thank them for their diligence.
The other committee, the Case Management Advisory Committee also draws on a wide range of skills.
Among other things it provides advice on the pastoral care of victims and of those against whom allegations of abuse have been made. Both victims and accused need quality support if the past is not to be repeated.
There are very few certainties in life, but I do believe that our diocesan and parish structures are such that they will be effective.
We gather to commission our Parish Representatives so that they can promote best practice at parish level. Their preparation was provided by Sr. Aileen Murphy and Fr. Michael Brennan who spent a year in Maynooth getting the most up-to-date training in child protection.
All training is to be understood as work in progress because even the best training programmes become dated.
Our ongoing training will be supervised by the HSE, ensuring that we will be meeting State requirements and at the same time making sure that it is the gospel vision that is the inspiration for everything we do.
As a Christian community we want to cherish the unique dignity of every person and we want best practice and the highest standards to be the norm.
To help us toward those goals we now have an office in the Pastoral Centre, with Ita O’Mahony as secretary, to support the work of implementing what is in our Child Protection Policy document.
Unforeseen situations will mean new challenges in that work of implementation.
Since 1996 when new structures were put in place in all dioceses of Ireland the number of allegations of abuse being reported has dropped significantly when compared with pre-1996 figures.
The new structures made for a climate of vigilance.
With further improvements on those structures we can now expect even better results.
If we need to adapt again then we will. We can never afford to be complacent.
I look forward to the day when we won’t need to talk about child protection, but will be able to focus on the positive, on what is best for children’s welfare, for their growth, for their integrity.
We are in this together as a Christian community and we will continue to draw on the wisdom and expertise that is there in abundance in our parishes and diocese.
The generosity and commitment of many has brought us to where we are now, taking responsibility for the situation as it is and for the time ahead.
We are grateful for all who have given their time and expertise to this project.
Fortunately for us the tide has been turning. We have moved beyond the crisis days when there was pressure to make quick decisions. We are in calmer waters now where mistakes and problems are seen on the larger canvas.
There is more clarity on how and why mistakes were made. The new context is for us a window of opportunity and indeed of hope.
An African proverb comes to mind, When a tree falls it makes a great noise, when a forest grows it grows silently.
The calmer times offer scope for growth – in healing, in forgiveness, in wisdom. We have no reason to be complacent, however, for we have a long journey to travel yet.
Rebuilding trust in the Church, regaining confidence in the power of the gospel message to transform lives, earning credibility – these will take more time.
We are on the way.
Patience and wise decisions will keep us moving in the right direction.
What we are doing here today is an important milestone on our journey.
Thank you all for taking the time to travel with us.
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