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	MEP in Abuse Archive Call By Philip Bradfield Belfast Today [Ireland] July 5, 2007 http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news?articleid=3006646 MEP Jim Allister has demanded to be told whether the PSNI has been given full access to Catholic Church archives on alleged child abuse. Mr Allister revealed that early in June he wrote to Sir Hugh Orde to query reports that only "summaries" of archives were given to police and complete records withheld. He referred the Chief Constable to the Ferns Inquiry in the Republic. In 2005 the inquiry concluded that 21 priests had sexually abused children in Co Wexford over 40 years. Soon after, the PSNI and social services met with Catholic Church representatives to explore the implications for the Province. In March, the News Letter reported that a senior Church official had confirmed that only "summaries" of records were handed to the PSNI. Mr Allister said: "I asked if this is correct and, if so, was the PSNI satisfied with this situation?" Though a spokeswoman said the Chief Constable had written back to Mr Allister on June 29, the MEP said the correspondence was not in relation to the child abuse investigation. Yesterday a Catholic Church spokesman said it was "cooperating fully with the police and the civil authorities."
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