The Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog today urged Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to come forward with any evidence that parishes are not adhering to abuse-reporting guidelines.The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) this morning published its second annual report.
Nearly 200 new allegations of abuse have been reported to the Catholic Church's child protection watchdog since April 2009, the report found.
The head of the National Board for Safeguarding Children said he was not aware of widespread non-compliance with rules on the handling of abuse complaints but warned clergy if they slipped below standards they would be pursued.
In a speech to the Knights of Columbanus last week, Archbishop Martin claimed strong forces in the Church would prefer scandals about paedophile priests are kept secret. He added that there were worrying signs that despite solid regulations they were not being rigorously followed.
At the unveiling of the board’s 2009 annual report, which revealed new allegations against 197 Church figures in the past 12 months, chief executive Ian Elliott said he would raise the issue with Archbishop Martin this week.
“It really is very important that if there is knowledge of non-compliance, essentially, in relation to the standards and guidance, in relation to the norms that he refers to, that we share that information so that it can be addressed,” Mr Elliott said.
“And I believe that Archbishop Martin would know that he could do that with confidence to the National Office, and the matter would be addressed regardless of who it was or where it was. If he had the evidence and shared it with us, we would address it.”
Mr Elliott said that without evidence, it would be very hard to take the matter further. “We don’t have evidence of widespread non-compliance. On the contrary,” he said.
“We have increasing evidence of a commitment to change. Yes, I do get frustrated that everything doesn’t happen more quickly. It’s certainly not the situation that there are massive blocks. If they were to occur, they would be addressed. We would engage them. We would go and talk to people and say ‘that is unacceptable, it cannot happen, change it’,” he said.
In his annual report, the chief executive insisted the safety of the child in the Church should be paramount. But he said within some areas, a commitment to this has been “tempered by a mistaken belief that it is possible to continue with past and familiar practices”.
He also said the Church must improve significantly in communicating a sense of regret and remorse for what has happened.
Three parishes - Ossory, Killala and Clonfert, have no trained safeguarding - representative in place. Mr Elliott said this was more an indication of slow movement than resistance.
The chief executive also said stronger legislation was needed across the island with greater allocation of resources to ensure children are protected. He added that the legislation was more advanced in Northern Ireland.
John Morgan, board chairman, said the board wanted to change the attitude of the Church towards abuse allegations.
“Historically, when allegations of abuse came, the standard approach was almost a ‘call in your lawyer’. We want to convert the situation to bring in child safeguarding expertise so that the approach taken is child-centred,” Mr Morgan said.
“You can be told this is happening, but to actually see it happening on the ground can take a little bit of time.”
The 30-page report from the National Board for Safeguarding Children contains findings of the board's audit of child-protection practices in 187 Catholic institutions in Ireland, including its 26 dioceses. The period covered in the document covers the publication of the Ryan and Murphy reports into clerical child abuse.
It indicates that there are still big discrepancies between difference dioceses in regard to their handling of child sex abuse complaints
Of the allegations reported since April 1st, 2009, 87 were related to dioceses and 110 came from Catholic institutions. All were reported to the statutory authorities in the jurisdiction in which the alleged offences occurred.
Some 114 complaints related to individuals who are alive today. Of these, 35 have already been laicised or dismissed from their congregation or orders.
A number of allegations were related to individuals who have already identified as being a risk to children. None of the allegations reported to the board originated from children or young people, and some related to events that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. However, as they were being reported for the first time, they were defined as new complaints.
A total of 47 allegations reported from the dioceses relate to living individuals, of which 24 are out of ministry entirely, while 10 are still within some form of limited ministry. Five of the individuals named in complaints have been laicised, and eight are now retired.
Among allegations against individuals serving with Catholic institutions, 67 are still alive, of which 32 are out of ministry. Five individuals reported are in limited ministry while the remaining 30 have been dismissed from their orders or congregations.
The board said that while much of the media coverage surrounding clerical abuse has focused on sex abuse, many of the allegations that were made following the publication of the Ryan report also alleged physical and emotional abuse.
The report indicates that while there have been improvements made in the handling of abuse complaints, discrepancies still exist between different dioceses.
The Christian Brothers are singled out for particular praise, with the report authors saying that since the publication of the Ryan report, the congregation has worked diligently to ensure that information regarding members who has been suspected of being involved in abuse is reported.
According to the board's report, significant progress has been made in developing and implementing a single, coherent strategy to safeguarding children in the church. A survey carried out on for the board in April indicates 1,230 of the country's 1,365 parishes have at least one trained "safeguarding representative" in post, while many have two or more.
A total of 2,356 individuals are known to have undergone training and to be performing this function within parishes. The board said that all parishes should have such representatives in place within the coming months.
Mr Elliot today said an audit of child protection in the Diocese of Raphoe should be completed by the end of 2010.
The diocese has previously been accused of being involved in a cover-up over the abuse perpetrated by the convicted paedophile Fr Eugene Greene. who served as a priest in Raphoe in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Mr Elliot said he had experienced obstruction while investigating Fr Greene.
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