IRELAND
Irish Independent
SHANE PHELAN – 16 FEBRUARY 2014
THE former head of the Catholic Church’s child safety watchdog has accused religious bodies of using “covert means” to limit its investigations.
The sensational claims were made by Ian Elliott, who has authored several high-profile reports on the handling of allegations of child sexual abuse in various dioceses.
His comments will come as a major embarrassment to the Catholic hierarchy as it seeks to put an end to years of scandal over its handling of child sexual abuse.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr Elliott said religious bodies were undermining the work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) by consistently cutting its funding.
He said he believed efforts had been made to curtail further probes of dioceses, missionary organisations and religious orders by starving investigators of resources.
Mr Elliott said he could “see no justification” for this “other than a desire to limit the role of the board by covert means”.
Although the board is independent, it is funded by three major Catholic bodies: the Conference of Religious in Ireland, the Irish Missionary Union and the Irish Bishops Conference.
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