This section is reprinted from The Irish Times, December 23, 2005. Author is Bishop Colm O'Reilly. View original link at http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2005/1223/4256487393OP23BISHOP.html
The Catholic Church is trying to ensure that all information relating to allegations and suspicions of child abuse is dealt with in a consistent and professional manner, writes Bishop Colm O'Reilly.
The issue of the church's new policy on child protection, Our Children, Our Church, has been the subject of widespread discussion since its publication on Monday. While the policy has been welcomed by many, including the Minister of State for Children and the ISPCC, it is becoming clear that certain criticism of Our Children, Our Church is not reflected in the actual detail of the text. Readers can inform themselves of the document's contents by logging on to www.catholiccommunications.ie.
The policy was developed after wide consultation with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, with the civil authorities, with experts in the field of childcare and child protection and many others. The independent experts who brought the new policy to its final stages of completion have indicated that Our Children, Our Church meets the highest standards of best practice in child protection, both nationally and internationally.
Not only does the policy implement the principles and procedures of the State guidelines Children First. It goes further. It establishes a National Board for Child Protection, to be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Anthony Hederman, which will publish an annual audit of the church's implementation of the policy and of its adherence to best practice. No other church, faith community, group or organisation in this State has imposed on itself this level of public accountability.
Yesterday Fergus Finlay expressed concern, however, that the bishops and other leaders in the Catholic Church have sought to retain control over the investigation and reporting of allegations of child abuse. This is simply not true. In fact, the new policy commits the Catholic Church to reporting procedures that go far beyond the State guidelines. In the first instance, the document clearly states that anyone in the church who receives an allegation or suspicion of child abuse "should actively encourage the person who is making it to report the matter to the civil authorities". Far from trying to direct such allegations, the bishops and leaders of religious congregations have repeatedly indicated that they would prefer that people would go directly to the civil authorities, thereby allowing the civil authorities to take direct responsibility for the handling of every allegation or suspicion which arises. This remains the preferred policy of the church in Our Children, Our Church.
A difficulty arises, however, when, for whatever reason, the person making an allegation or who has a suspicion that a child may be at risk in a church context, is unwilling to bring that concern directly to the civil authorities. This situation is further complicated by the fact that such concerns can arise in any aspect of the church's life and often come to the attention of church personnel with no experience or expertise in handling such information. In the interests of protecting children and ensuring best practice, therefore, the new policy of the Catholic Church seeks to ensure that all information relating to allegations and suspicions of child abuse are dealt with in a consistent and professional manner by assigning a professionally qualified director of child protection, who in turn will report this information directly to the civil authorities. As the policy explains, "Where it is established that there are reasonable grounds for concern that child abuse has occurred, the Director of Child Protection shall, on behalf of the bishop or religious superior report the allegation to the civil authorities immediately".
Yesterday Margaret Kennedy expressed concern about the need to establish whether "reasonable grounds for concern" exist before reporting to the civil authorities. It is important to note, however, that this principle is taken directly from the State guidelines, Children First. Establishing whether reasonable grounds for concern exist before reporting to the civil authorities is the approach recommended by the State for all churches, organisations and groups who work with children.
The criteria for establishing whether such grounds exist are also clearly defined by the State guidelines and are repeated in the church policy. They do not envisage any form of quasi-investigation as Margaret Kennedy suggests. She is also incorrect to infer that the Catholic Church is doing something here which is not accepted practice in other organisations. In fact, as with other aspects of the policy, the Catholic Church has sought to go further than the State guidelines require by ensuring that the decision about whether such grounds exist will be taken, not by a bishop or leader of a religious congregation, but by a qualified professional with experience in this area.
As I pointed out in my own presentation at the launch of the document, while the principle of keeping the bishop informed is accepted, the new policy recognises the moral, professional and statutory obligation on the director of child protection to report to the civil authorities, irrespective of the opinion of any other person about a given allegation or suspicion, including the bishop or religious superior. The policy also points out that "care should be taken to ensure that any canonical procedure does not undermine a civil investigation". This is a far cry from the "trust us, we know best" approach that Mary Raftery has accused the church of in her column yesterday. The bishop is simply informed. He does not act until consultation between the director of child protection and the civil authorities has taken place.
One of the other key principles reiterated throughout the new policy is the unequivocal commitment of the Catholic Church to an inter-agency approach to all aspects of child protection, including the sharing of information about allegations and suspicions of abuse. As a natural extension of this inter-agency approach, the Irish bishops have also indicated their willingness to engage with the inter-agency review committee structure proposed by the Ferns Report. Combined with the comprehensive policies outlined in Our Children, Our Church, the commitment to this inter-agency approach will ensure that the Catholic Church in Ireland operates with a level of transparency and accountability well beyond that recommended by the State guidelines. It also ensures that the Catholic Church's procedures in regard to reporting are among the most rigorous and accountable operated by any other church, faith community or organisation in the State.
Bishop O'Reilly chairs the church's steering group on child protection.
© The Irish Times
