VATICAN recognition for Ireland’s Catholic Church child protection guidelines “could be something of a hindrance”, Ian Elliott, chief executive of the church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), has said.The Vatican did not grant a “recognitio”, or canon law, backing to the Irish Catholic Church’s 1996 Framework document on child protection; its 2005 Our Children Our Church guidelines; or its 2008 Safeguarding Children guidelines.
Such “recognitio”, however, was granted to guidelines prepared for the US Catholic Church in 2002 and 2006.
Yesterday Ian Elliott said that “initially I believed that a ‘recognitio’ would make a useful and practical contribution to the solution. Having reflected on it, and also having spoken to American colleagues, because as you know America is the only part of the Church where ‘recognitio’ is in place on this issue, I’ve shifted my position.
“I actually now believe it could be something of a hindrance as I believe it creates rigidity; it’s very permanent; it inhibits policy formation and it makes it more difficult to respond to these issues and particularly to take account of experience going forward where you can review a policy, amend it and adapt it.
“So, given that I believe the commitment is there ; that there is this momentum for change; I think a ‘recognitio’ could actually be inhibiting.”
He was speaking after he and NBSC chairman John Morgan had addressed the Irish Bishops’ Conference in Maynooth yesterday morning. The bishops are taking part in their spring meeting there, which ends today.
They told the bishops of NBSC plans for a new child protection “audit and review of the dioceses and religious congregations across the whole of the Church”.
It is to start within weeks and will last up to two years.
“We’d previously given an indication to governments in both jurisdictions and also to the bishops we thought it would take at least two years to complete and that’s what we are aiming for. With increased staffing I’m confident we’ll get most, if not all, of it done within that time period.”
He said the audit’s findings will be published “very definitely”. He emphasised that “if, through the course of any audit, we discover any matters that either have not been fully reported or appropriately dealt with from a safeguarding point of view, we will immediately inform the State authorities in whatever jurisdiction is involved and ensure the matter is dealt with immediately.”
He also said that obstacles which could have inhibited the audit have been removed. “We’re in a position where we believe we’ve overcome all of the logistical, practical difficulties that existed, particularly in relation to data protection. Also importantly for staffing, we also reported to them our staff team will be doubling in size . . . to eight in total . . .”
He was happy with co-operation from the church authorities. “I think an indication of the current level of co-operation was the increased resources in these difficult times, times of falling incomes”, which now amounts to “very, very close to a million a year”.
But he was critical of interagency co-operation.
“One of the things we have picked up from a church point of view is that, on occasions, referrals have been made to the Garda or have been made to the HSE and the information hasn’t been passed to each other.”
To circumvent this church guidelines now directed that “you inform both . . . verbally . . . in writing and you evidence the fact that you have done it”.
The NBSC annual report for 2009 is to be published next month.
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