Call for inquiry over church child abuse 'cover-up'
Child protection lawyers have called for a public inquiry into an alleged cover-up by churches of widespread sexual and physical abuse of children in England and Wales.
In a letter to The Times last week, they claimed that the implementation of new ‘safeguarding’ policies has been ‘tentative (and) patchy’, and has met with ‘institutional resistance at senior levels in the church hierarchy’.
The Catholic church has denied these allegations, pointing to the 2001 Nolan independent review and the 2006 Cumberlege Commission, which investigated child abuse by Catholic priests and put in place measures that ensured transparency and brought offenders to justice.
David Greenwood, partner at Yorkshire firm Jordans, said the Vatican issued a decree in 1962 requiring bishops to keep reports of abuse from the police. This edict was endorsed in 2001 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now the Pope.
Greenwood said: ‘The Catholic church is obstructing justice by hiding away documents and there is now a desperate need for a public inquiry.’
Manchester firm Pannone partner Richard Scorer, a member of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, said: ‘There is a tension in the church between canon law and the laws of our society.’
However, Father Kristian Paver, canon law safeguarding consultant to the general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said: ‘Nothing new can be discovered by a public hearing. The Holy See long ago sent a letter to all bishops reminding them that they must abide by the legal requirements of every country.’
Comments
And Pannone haven't got a
And Pannone haven't got a financial interest in pursuing more cases against the Catholic church. and its insurers Their behaviour is reprehensible. They published an article on their website urging victims to come forward when Fr Geoff Hilton was accused. It emerged that the accusations were false but no apology from Pannone or effort to restore his reputation. The Catholic Church has some of the most robust safeguarding policies in the UK. Even an anonymous complaint can lead to a priest being removed from his parish and presbytery whilst an investigagtion takes place.
Cover up by Catholic Church's Abuse Record
It's high time someone started shouting on behalf of the victims. If you need to see how entrenched the cover up is the Roman Catholic Church have a look at the Murphy Report covering abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese, then read the Cloyne Report followed by the Raphoe Report. These individuals are left totally traumatised by these events and no end of money will cure the havoc wreaked on this children's lives. Solicitors see this as a fast buck issue but believe me there's more to this than meets the eye. Consider the Holly Greig case in Scotland and ask yourself why is this sordid saga continuing to be ignored; because of the people involved; people that are predators in their professional spheres. I'd say to the solicitors go trawling for victims and shout as loud as you can regarding this perverted bunch in the Roman Catholic Church.
Hanora - I think you will
Hanora - I think you will discover historic cover ups in all Christian denominations and that the sexual abuse of children is not confined to the Roman Catholic church. The recent happenings in the Anglican diocese of Chichester proves the point.
The fact is that child sexual abuse has happened in many organisations including the scouts, childrens homes, and public schools, but most frequently happens within the family.
The reality is that the RC church now has some of the most robust safeguarding provisions in the United Kingdom. Clearly the former Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, would not have headed up the Church's National Safeguarding Commission if it were not fit for purpose.
To compare the situation of the Catholic Church in Ireland to that of England and Wales is not reasonable. Unlike Ireland the Church here (fortunately ) did not enjoy the same privileged position afforded it by the government, nor did it perform the vast majority of the social care functions of state. Indeed here the Roman Catholic church has always been treated with a healthy skeptism, and even discriminated against - in the same way that you label it s members as perverted!