Senior Clerics Still Not Co-Operating with Child Abuse Checks, The Journal, June 30, 2011

Senior Clerics Still Not Co-Operating with Child Abuse Checks

The Journal
June 30, 2011

http://www.thejournal.ie/senior-clerics-still-not-co-operating-with-child-abuse-checks-166394-Jun2011/

SOME CATHOLIC CHURCH authorities are continuing to resist a nationwide investigation of systems to protect children from sexual abuse, amid confusion over data protection practices.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, which was set up at an emergency bishops' conference in 2009, is auditing child protection practices after a series of abuse scandals. However, the NBSCCC has been impeded as some senior church figures raised concerns about data protection laws.

Earlier this month, the Data Protection Commissioner rejected these concerns. But the NBSCCC released a report which stated there are still "unresolved data protection issues", and this is still the position of the board, according to the Irish Times.

However, an NBSCCC newsletter published yesterday claimed that all data protection issues "have been solved" with the agreement of a "Data Processing Deed" between the board and Church authorities.