__NEWS__Great Britian_____________________________
Making Church Safe for Children
A British commission enlists the help of the police
By Nick Baty
For decades, teachers in Catholic schools have been checked against the records now kept on central police computers, to ensure they have no criminal records involving physical or sexual offenses involving children. But that policy has not been applied to priests, choir leaders, and other parish volunteers.
Now that policy is changing. Henceforth, no one will be allowed to work with children in the Catholic dioceses of England and Wales until his criminal records have been checked first.
A string of scandals involving the sexual abuse of children by priests, religious, and volunteers led Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster to convene an independent committee last summer, to study the problem of child abuse within the Church. Under the guidance of Lord Nolan, an experienced lawyer and judge, the committee was authorized—in the words of Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor—to “examine and review arrangements made for child protection and the prevention of abuse within the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and to make recommendations.”
Introducing the committee’s findings in April, Lord Nolan said: “This is essentially a practical report. Our overriding aim has been to create a secure environment for children.”
Lord Nolan continued:
Our proposals are meant to improve existing diocesan and national structures and procedures so that parishes are supported in their efforts to protect the children in their care. We also want to ensure a consistent and effective approach across the Church to allegations of child abuse.
The report stressed that care for the welfare of children “is at the forefront of the teachings of Christ and is, therefore, one of the primary responsibilities of the Church.” The Catholic Church, the Nolan report reasoned, should become “an example of best practice in the prevention of child abuse and in responding to it.”
Growing scandal, late response
Last year both Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor and Archbishop John Aloysius Ward of Cardiff came under heavy hostile fire on national television programs for having failed to prevent known child abusers from working with children. The cardinal threw up his hands and admitted that errors had been made, while Archbishop Ward denied any complicity in the appointment of abusive priests. There were loud calls for the resignation of both prelates. The general public was unwilling to forget that for the previous decade there had been a seemingly endless stream of claims of abuse by clergy hitting the national tabloids.
While Church leaders in America and in Australia had at least been taking a serious look at the problems surrounding such allegations, the Church in England and Wales appeared to be lagging behind. The Catholic Church, it was claimed, was a haven for child abusers.
In 1993 the Diocese of Portsmouth had taken the first initiative by issuing guidelines advising parishes how best to deal with allegations of child abuse by clergy. These guidelines clearly set out the procedures to be followed in case of suspected abuse. The Portsmouth policy read in part:
If an allegation is made to anyone that a child has been sexually abused by a priest or Church personnel, then the allegation must immediately be referred to the local Social Services Office and the Chairman of the [diocesan] Standing Committee on Sexual Abuse.
The public complaints against Church leaders, however, had gone beyond questions of formal procedure. Critics argued that priests who were known to be child abusers had been protected by their bishops. The Portsmouth diocese therefore set forth the general policy that the welfare of the child must be the paramount concern; the concerns of the accused cleric could not be given top priority. “Under no circumstances should the alleged perpetrator be informed or interviewed,” continued the Portsmouth guidelines. “This is for the protection of the victim and the victim’s family.” If a criminal investigation was launched, priests and employees would be suspended on full pay. While they would be offered accommodation, counseling, and treatment, any future employment would be “restricted.”
The following year, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales published a statement entitled “Child Abuse: Pastoral and Procedural Guidelines.” The document reaffirmed the Church’s belief in the dignity of children and stressed that “all child abuse includes a betrayal of trust” which is compounded when “a person is presumed to act according to certain moral standards.” Abuse by a priest, the bishops’ statement continued:
. . . is a terrible contradiction since symbolically and sacramentally he makes present the redemptive mediation of Christ. Child abuse committed by a priest arouses a mixture of shock, disbelief, outrage, shame, betrayal, and many other emotions which can be fully expressed only by those who have been victims themselves or have been close to them.
The bishops’ 36-page document laid down procedures similar to those of the Portsmouth model. Church authorities were instructed to “make every effort to support the police and others who are working to establish the truth.” As in the Portsmouth recommendations, the bishops’ policy stipulated that “the protection of children is the priority,” and “in the case of a cleric being found guilty of abuse, the question of his future as an officiating pastor must be faced,” with counseling, therapy, and spiritual renewal preceding “any consideration of a return to the ministry.”
These documents failed to quiet the critics of the British hierarchy, and some readers pointedly observed that despite its rhetorical support for the welfare of children, the bishops’ statement focused primarily on the treatment of child abusers. A year after the release of that document, the bishops responded to the latter criticism with a new statement, “Healing the Wound,” which sought to redress the balance by considering how the Church “can best offer care and support in the matter of child sexual abuse.”
No foolproof system
Many of the recommendations originally put forward in the bishops’ 1994 guidelines have now been duplicated in this year’s Nolan Report. The report by that independent commission will now be followed up by yet another document, to be issued by the bishops in the summer of 2002. As Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor has stressed: “We are committed to ensuring that the Catholic Church becomes the safest of places for children.”
At the public launching of his commission’s report, Lord Nolan repeated the observation that “the care of children is at the forefront of the teachings of Christ.” He added that he was “confident that the huge majority of Church members strongly support this objective.” And he continued with the observation that his commission had “been impressed by the work many are already doing” to realize that goal.
Lord Nolan went on:
Our hope with this first report is that it will help to bring about a culture of vigilance where every single adult member of the Church consciously and actively takes responsibility for creating a safe environment for children and young people. Our recommendations are not a substitute for this but we hope they will be an impetus towards such an achievement.
The Nolan report itself admits, however, that no system of procedures can solve the problem of child abuse. Nor can a check through an individual’s police records be taken as infallible evidence that the individual has no unhealthy inclinations. Finally, the Nolan Commission reminded the Catholic community that a friendly and familiar figure is not necessarily one who can be trusted. The report stated: “Neither the Church nor any other organization can rely on the fact that someone is known to them as evidence that they are not a potential abuser.”
As the Catholic Youth Service noted in a 1995 document, “From Guidelines to Good Practice:”
The child-orientated values of our parishes tend to make us assume that every member of the community is of the same mind, and we therefore expect that everybody is trustworthy. Research has shown that the diocesan faith community provides the pedophile with a close family environment in which it is easy to operate.
Nick Baty, a free-lance writer based in England, writes regularly for CWR.