Catholic Church to Publish Details of Abuse and Misconduct Complaints

The Stv
November 24, 2013

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/250123-catholic-church-brings-in-andrew-mclellan-and-publishes-abuse-complaints/

Fort Augustus: Allegations of abuse at Catholic school.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

The Catholic Church in Scotland for the first time publish a breakdown of complaints of abuse and misconduct as it responds to a series of scandals.

It will give details how many 'safeguarding' incidents in each dioceses, their type, the category of victim and perpetrator, as well as the outcome of the investigation as part of a new policy.

The church also said it will bring in the former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Andrew McLellan to review its procedures.

The church also announced a statistical review of historic abuse cases between 1947 and 2005

The moves come after the church has been hit by a series of scandals. It faced allegations of sexual abuse at its Fort Augustus Abbey school, while the most senior Catholic in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien announced he was stepping down earlier this year over allegations of "sexual misconduct".

As well as being a former Church of Scotland moderator, Mr McLellan was also chief inspector of prisons in Scotland.

An address read at all masses on Sunday on behalf of the bishops of Scotland, said: "The Bishops Conference is confident these initiatives will show that the Catholic Church in Scotland is unreservedly committed to the ongoing implementation of safeguarding procedures and protocols. Moreover, these initiatives will in large part meet the need for accurate information about our present and historic safeguarding situation, openness and transparency, and a guarantee of independent analysis of our policies and processes."