BY Ian Dunn | March 15 | 
3 COMMENTS 
print
Church defends its ‘child protection’
— Mistakes of the past have shaped highest standards in place today, says Church in Scotland
The Catholic Church in Scotland has said its ‘child protection’ procedures are now of the highest standards as details emerged of two previous Church commission reports that found ‘unacceptable levels of risk to children’ in some parishes.
An official statement from the Church in Scotland this week said that its approach to such matters was now informed by the past.
“Errors in the handling of historic cases have informed current safeguarding standards,” the statement said. “There is always room for improvement but many lessons have been learned and the Church can only renew its apologies to those whose complaints were not taken seriously or handled properly in the past.”
The Church in Scotland commissioned the two reports, which became public last week, in 1995 and 2004.
The first saw the Church ask academic Alan Draper to compile a report on instances of sexual abuses in the Church.
Mr Draper said he uncovered information that should have been given ‘to an independent group, preferably chaired by a judge’ but the Church declined.
The Church’s statement confirms that Mr Draper was involved ‘at an early stage in the development of policies and procedures but was replaced when others with greater competence were engaged.’
The second, 27-page report was written by May Dunsmuir, then director of child protection for the Catholic Church in Scotland.
The report, entitled A Review of Child Protection Practices, criticised Scottish bishops for failing to provide proper training, adequate supervision of priests with problems and for organising ‘no national or diocesan collation and dissemination of child protection statistical information and analysis.’
Ms Dunsmuir resigned after four months, shortly after delivering her report.
The Church’s full response to questions raised about these reports said their child protection policies were now in good shape because the Church had learned from the errors of the past.
—This story was reported in full in the March 15 print edition of the SCO.
RSS Feeds
The statements made on behalf of the Body of Christ, our church are woefully inadequate. They are also breathtaking because, as always, the bottom line is, “Let’s not deal with this. Let’s move on.” We cannot move on however while so much remains buried and unexplained.
Mr Draper’s claims hit the press here last weekend and many ordinary catholics will have been deeply shocked by those revelations. For any group, bishops or not, to “decline” to order an independent investigation into the sexual abuse of children between 1985 and 1995 – 20 cases according to Mr Draper – is unacceptable. There absolutely should have been an investigation and later, if appropriate, a criminal investigation too. To dismiss Mr Draper’s removal as a decision to simply replace him with a more “competent” person is also pretty awful. His successor didn’t last very long either did she?
We simply cannot go on this way. It is wrong. It is sinful. This article states the Church in Scotland believes “lessons have been learned”. I’m sorry. They clearly haven’t if we are still led by people who wish to keep such things hidden.
While they continue with that position the Body of Christ takes the hit, the condemnation, the ridicule, the anger and outrage. And ordinary catholics take the hit too in our communities and workplaces where it becomes increasingly impossible to defend the indefensible and where God has no place in the proceedings because the conduct of Church Leaders is what is making the front pages. By their own conduct those leaders are themselves overseeing and are, indeed, the cause of the Body of Christ being smashed to smithereens because they cannot face the truth. Every priest is smeared by association and that in itself is quite disgraceful.
I would urge every ordinary catholic to write to the leaders of the Catholic Church in Scotland to tell them we have had enough of this and that we are claiming the Body of Christ back. There was a time when it was right to heed the message of those leaders and to show them loyalty and respect. That time is past when they have so clearly failed to protect children and instead chose to protect those priests who sought to harm them.
Let’s keep calm, pray, and don’t over-react. Historic allegations are no bench-mark or standard for commenting on present-day policies and procedures within the church. There is no complacency. We are informed by the Church that there is a zero-tolerance approach in place, and that all allegations are now referred to the police for investigation and prosecution, if evidence can be found. We all have a role to play in following this practice. The highest incidence of abuse to children occurs within families (or as recent research points out, increasing abuse of children against other children). Let’s have more confidence in the present-day church policies now in place, but also let’s accept some personal responsibility in parenting our children, listening to them, being with them, and encouraging their christian up-bringing.
@Jo – you said ‘I would urge every ordinary catholic to write to the leaders of the Catholic Church in Scotland to tell them we have had enough of this and that we are claiming the Body of Christ back. There was a time when it was right to heed the message of those leaders and to show them loyalty and respect. That time is past when they have so clearly failed to protect children and instead chose to protect those priests who sought to harm them.’
My sentiments exactly! As Sir Thomas More said “Silence gives consent”.