Statement by Bishop William Lee on "Review of Safeguarding Practice in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore"
"On
behalf of the diocese of Waterford and Lismore I welcome this thorough
review on safeguarding practice which was conducted by Mr Ian Elliott
and the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.
In
the wake of this review I again offer my sincere apologies to all who
have suffered as a result of abuse by Church personnel. To the
survivors of child abuse, I wish to say that our thoughts and prayers
are with you today. No words of apology or any gesture of repentance or
sorrow can ever make up for the enormous damage you have suffered. I am
truly sorry for what happened to you and I pray that the Lord Jesus
will heal you and bring hope, love and peace back into your lives.
The
Report follows a full review in late October last year of case files in
the diocese as well as interviews with key personnel involved in the
diocesan safeguarding service and also with senior personnel in the
Gardaí and the H.S.E.
I welcome the positive outcome of this
Review. The Report will be a source of reassurance to the people of the
diocese and will confirm that the diocese is taking its obligations in
relation to child safeguarding very seriously. "The culture and practice
of the diocese … demonstrates that total commitment to ensuring that
child safeguarding is a major priority". (Page 5)
The aims of
the Review were to determine if current safeguarding practice complies
with the standards set out by the National Board and if all known
allegations and concerns have been dealt with appropriately.
Both
the Gardaí and the H.S.E. have been made aware of all allegations and I
want to thank both bodies for their work with us on our cases. The
diocese remains committed, through our inter-agency meetings, to working
with the statutory authorities to ensure that all aspects of children
and young people's welfare are managed promptly and professionally.
The
Review Team endorses our Diocesan Policy and Procedures. "The National
Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland is
satisfied that the Waterford and Lismore Policy and Procedures meet the
expected standards and that diocesan personnel are actively engaged in
ensuring full implementation of those important safeguards as well as
identifying how the policies can be improved". (Page 8) The National
Boards Standards contain 48 criteria – indicators as to whether
standards have been met. The Review found that 43 out of the 48
criteria have been fully met. The other 5 have been partially met.
These 5 are being addressed currently.
In addition, the Report
includes six recommendations towards improving our safeguarding
practice. A number of these recommendations are already in place and
all will form part of our revised Policy and Procedures to be published
later this year.
For all this, I am very grateful to our
Designated Person, our Co-ordinator for Safeguarding Children, our
Safeguarding Children Committee, our Safeguarding Trainers, our Advisory
Committee, Support Person, Priest Advisors, our priests and the many
committed lay parish representatives who are doing tremendous work in
promoting a safe and nurturing environment at parish level. The Reports
comments that "one of the most striking aspects of all these personnel
was their maturity and commitment to working alongside Bishop Lee in
order to safeguard children".
I wish to reaffirm the commitment
of our diocese to the highest safeguarding standards. The work of
safeguarding is an on-going task and we need to be vigilant and
attentive. The people of the diocese - and particularly those who have
suffered abuse deserve no less.
Finally if there are any people
who wish to make a complaint I again invite them to contact the diocese,
or the civil authorities, so that everything possible can be done to
help them. I invite them also to contact Towards Healing, a counselling
service which assists those who are survivors of child abuse.
The
telephone number is Freephone 1800 30 34 16.
The contacts for other
support services are on our diocesan website: http://www.waterfordlismore.com
William Lee
Bishop of Waterford and Lismore