Dublin, Ireland - The Catholic Church has a responsibility to pass on a concern about child protection to the civil authorities even when the matter does not concern Church personnel directly, new guidelines published today state.
The National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church (NBSC) published revised and updated guidelines on child protection following the recent controversy over child-protection practices in the Cloyne diocese.
They were welcomed by the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady, as an "indication of the Church's resolve to safeguard children at all times".
The guidelines, entitled Safeguarding Children, provide detailed information for those who work or come into contact with children in the course of their work. They outline how to carry out a ‘self-audit’ in order to ensure maximum protection for the children in their care.
Any one who has suffered child abuse should receive a “compassionate and just response and should be offered appropriate pastoral care to rebuild their lives”, the guidelines state.
They add: “Those who have harmed others should be helped to face up to the reality of abuse, as well as being assisted in healing.”
Anyone who has been abused or who has perpetrated abuse should be “assisted and supported in seeking help”.
“Child abuse is distressing and can be difficult to deal with. Church organisations have a duty to ensure advice and support is available. Children in particular need someone to turn to when they are being abused. Often they do not know where to go for help.”
The standards laid out in the guideline document should be used by all Church organisations, including diocese, parishes, religious, institutions, seminaries and by church personnel such as clergy, religious, lay employees and volunteers.
Under the guidelines, children must also be made aware of their right to be safe from abuse and who to speak to if they have concerns. The child protection policy should be openly displayed and available to everyone.
Everyone in the Church organisation must know who the “designated person” is for reporting concerns about child protection, and how to contact them.
Church personnel should also be provided with contact details of local child protection services, such as Health and Social Care Trusts/ Health Service Executive, PSNI, An Garda Síochána, telephone helplines and contact details for the designated person within the church itself.
“It is vital to remember that the safety and wellbeing of any child/ren should be the paramount consideration in any investigation and at no times should children be put at further risk of harm by delay or inaction,” the guidelines state.
“The Church has a responsibility to pass on child protection concerns about a child to civil authorities even when it does not concern Church personnel directly.”
Where a child protection concern arises or a complaint is made about the behaviour of Church personnel or a volunteer, a designated officer must pass on the information to the Bishop or religious superior and the civil authorities “without delay”.
“The guiding principle is that the safety of the child is always the most important consideration. Any allegation or concern regarding the abuse of a child should be treated seriously and for this reason it is important for anyone raising a concern to strictly follow a reporting procedure. Particular care should be taken in regard to confidentiality and the sharing of information with appropriate people.”
Catholic bishops held an emergency meeting last month at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to discuss child protection amid a crisis after the report on child protection practices in the Cloyne diocese.
The meeting followed publication on December 19th last of a report on child protection practices in the Cloyne diocese by the NSBC in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
It found such practices in Cloyne to be “inadequate and in some respects dangerous”. It also found Bishop Magee had a written policy of supplying “minimal” information to the civil authorities on clerical child sex abuse allegations and that, in two instances, he did not report allegations immediately, as required by church and State guidelines.
NBSC chairman Aidan Canavan said the standards document “now becomes the first and only necessary point of reference for all those with responsibility for implementing the Church’s safeguarding policy and procedures across both jurisdictions in Ireland”.
" Safeguarding Children incorporates and complements the best practice and guidance provided in the two statutory policy documents Children First and Cooperating to Safeguard Children .
NSBC chief executive Ian Elliott said: “We must always have a consistent and up-to-date standard of best practice. Consequently, we have, in parallel with our day to day work, been examining best practice worldwide and adding what we have learned to the guidance that already existed. This new document will eliminate any doubt, for example, regarding the need to contact the relevant statutory agencies as soon as a credible suspicion arises.”
Mr Elliott said the guidelines had been designed recognising the differences in legislation and protection systems that exist in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and some of the particular issues that arise in relation to missionaries who work overseas.
Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, welcomed the publication of the guidelines today.
" Standards and Guidance will be of great help in guiding those who are implementing safeguarding policy and procedures throughout Church life and I look forward to its implementation in every parish and diocese in Ireland," he said in a statement.
"I wish to thank the National Board for providing this essential reference on best practice. I look forward to receiving, from the board, additional guidance in the coming months on other issues. Today's publication is an indication of the Church's resolve to safeguard children at all times."
The guidelines will be available from our website, www.safeguarding.ie, from 4pm today.