SCOTLAND
The Guardian
Press Association
Tuesday 18 August 2015
The Catholic church in Scotland must address the wrongs of the past, an independent review of its handling of abuse allegations has said.
A commission led by the Very Rev Andrew McLellan recommended that the church’s safeguarding guidelines be updated and called for survivors of abuse to be prioritised.
The former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and one-time chief inspector of prisons, was given the job of evaluating the procedures in place to protect vulnerable children and adults and ensuring the church was “a safe place for all”.
At a press conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday to set out the findings of his 11-member commission, he said: “Nothing in our independent report is more important than our first recommendation: that support for the survivors of abuse must be an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland.”
The commission has also recommended that a public apology is made to survivors of abuse within the church.
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