UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Press Association
theguardian.com, Thursday 24 July 2014
More than 50 Catholic priests in England and Wales have been defrocked since new rules were put in place over a decade ago to combat clerical sex abuse, it has been revealed.
The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) said 52 priests had been laicised – or defrocked – since 2001 following the implementation of new procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The statistics were revealed as the commission said there were 81 child protection allegations made last year – a leap from 59 in 2012.
The number of parishes without a safeguarding representative grew between 2012 and 2013 from 88 to 126, the commission said, possibly due to concern over increased paperwork associated with the role.
There were 384 “covenants of care” in place by the end of 2013 in England and Wales where either a priest or a lay person is placed under restrictions.
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