SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
FOR survivors of child abuse within the Catholic Church in Scotland, the McLellan Commission was a great sign of hope and potential change. Not only did the appointment of Dr Andrew McLellan, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland, appear to demonstrate that the Church was prepared to genuinely open itself to independent scrutiny, the hierarchy responded well to the final report. Archbishop Philip Tartaglia offered a profound apology to the victims and the Church said that change was coming.
However, more than a year on from the publication of the report, some of its authors appear to have lost faith in the process. In a letter to The Herald, Dr McLellan and six other members of the commission have suggested the Bishops appear to be ignoring their report. “A year ago the bishops might have used the opportunity of the publication of the report to introduce systemic reform,” says the letter. “Now they are in danger of confirming the worst fears of survivors and observers by appearing to ignore its recommendations.”
The letter also makes a number of specific allegations. One of the report’s recommendations was that the church would publish a timetable for action, to be followed by a progress report within 12 months, but the letter says that has not happened. Another key recommendation was that the church would put survivors first – again, the letter says that has not happened. And on the recommendation the church be transparent and open, the letter writers say they are disappointed: “As far as we can tell from Catholic friends the members of the church themselves know nothing.”
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