THE report by Church watchdog body, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), was damning in its criticisms of how the Diocese of Cloyne handled abuse allegations against two unnamed clerics.The NBSC issued a total of eight recommendations about childcare practices within the Cork diocese -- and bluntly questioned the competence of personnel involved in diocesan childcare protection.
The main findings were that:
- Children were placed at risk of harm because the diocese did not respond appropriately to information about alleged abuse by two clerics.
- The competence of those involved in childcare protection work in Cloyne was seriously questioned.
- The diocesan responses to the allegations were ill-advised and effectively too little, too late.
- The lessons derived from the review must now be applied not only within the diocese but within the Church itself.
- The NBSC received all relevant files from the diocese and personnel did meet with the board.
The NBSC recommendations include a diocesan commitment to achieve best-practice with childcare protection, the pooling of all information with statutory bodies, needs of the child to receive top priority over the management of the abuser, child protection training for all diocesan personnel involved in the field and a clear policy of preventative action in all cases to protect children.
The Bishop of Cloyne, Dr John Magee, confirmed that he accepted the NBSC recommendations.
Friends stressed that Dr Magee was now determined to personally see through the implementation of the NBSC recommendations in the sprawling Cork diocese.
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(Source: II)