Bishops accused of breaking promises

CATHOLIC bishops were accused last night of breaking their promises to support victims of clerical sex abuse.

An abuse victims group said the majority of the country’s bishops have failed to appoint liaison officers for victims, despite committing to do so seven years ago.

One in Four say support people exist in only five of the 26 Irish dioceses, but the bishops say 19 have people in place and in some cases their services were never availed of by victims.

Published in 1996, the guidelines are still in force and state: “Each bishop or religious superior should appoint a support person to be available to those who allege that they have suffered abuse and their families.”

Condemning the bishops for their inaction, One in Four director Colm O’Gorman said the failure shows the guidelines for dealing with abuse were nothing but a cynical public relations exercise: “What is once again clear is that the Church’s response is nothing more than a botched attempt to protect itself and its public image; that its guidelines have little to do with the protection of children and the welfare of adult victims, but instead are part of a cynical PR exercise.”

The co-ordinator of the Church’s response unit for abuse claims accepted there were gaps in the system but it was still the intention that all dioceses would have liaison officers in place.

Irish Bishops Conference child protection office director Paul Bailey pointed out his central position was put in place 18 months ago and was not part of the original guidelines. Having visited all 26 dioceses, he said only seven did not have a support person in place, but 19 did. “In certain dioceses, support people were not used by victims and other times there were problems with engaging at the outset. The timing of the support is important. The problem has been in accessing at an initial phase,” he said.

The bishops are reviewing guidelines with new directives due to be published in the autumn, he added.

Child Sexual Abuse - Framework for a Church Response, issued in 1996 by the Irish Catholic Bishops Advisory Committee on Child Sexual Abuse by Priests and Religious sets out the duties of the abuse liaison officer: “The role of this person will be to assist those wishing to make a complaint of child sexual abuse, to facilitate them in gaining access to information and help, and to represent their concerns on an ongoing basis. In larger dioceses and religious congregations there may be a need to have more than one person available to act in this capacity.”

Despite the bishops’ responses, Mr O’Gorman said the Church was unwilling to address this issue.

“In the final analysis it must be the State that acts to protect its vulnerable citizens,” he said.