Danger of Church colluding in false abuse impression

IRELAND
The Irish Catholic

by Michael Kelly
April 28, 2016

The watchdog set up to monitor the Church’s adherence to stringent child protection rules has published a new set of ‘standards’. Amongst other things, the document aims to redress a perception that a priest who is accused of abuse is treated unfairly. These concerns have been particularly evident when a priest has been stood aside, forced to leave his home and months, or even years later, is found to have no case to answer.

The new standards from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) are currently being rolled out across all 26 dioceses and, evidently, have been well received.

I can say without fear of contradiction that the Catholic Church in Ireland is now governed by some of the strictest policies and procedures in the country when it comes to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

The heightened sense around safeguarding is only to be welcomed and it is to the Church’s credit that such a comprehensive job of work has been undertaken.

In parishes and communities up and down the country there is a veritable army of volunteers charged with implementing safeguarding policies – it has, in fact, been one of the largest lay-led initiatives in the Catholic Church in Ireland in decades. Literally thousands of Catholic parishioners have volunteered their time and energy to ensure that the Church is a safe environment.

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