UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
By Hazel Southam and John Bingham 13 Apr 2015
Churches are still viewed as a “soft touch” by paedophiles hunting for new victims despite tightening up child protection measures after a flood of abuse scandals, one of Britain’s leading experts on the issue has warned.
Justin Humphreys, Head of Safeguarding at the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS), an independent body set up to combat clerical abuse, said convicted paedophiles often seek out places of worship on their release because of members’ belief in forgiveness.
Although churches now routinely carry out criminal records checks for volunteer positions such as Sunday School teachers, he said they are “undoubtedly” still missing out on large numbers of people who pose a threat to children but have never previously been caught.
Churches of all denominations are still guilty of “naivety” on the issue of sexual abuse despite the revelations, he added.
A recent random survey by the CPAS found no examples of churches carrying out the level of full scrutiny in application processes that it recommends.
* Church warned over rights of suspected paedophile priests
* Ex-Archbishop quits over Church of England child sex abuse revelations
* Justin Welby: I broke down in tears at horror of Church child abuse
* Failing to report child abuse should be a crime, says Keir Starmer
The Roman Catholic Church around the world in particular has been rocked by waves of child abuse scandals, including in Britain, leading to the introduction of new rules to protect children.
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