Priests seek change on abuse claim protocol

The Association of Catholic Priests has called for changes to be made to the guidelines on standing aside priests accused of abuse from ministry.

Among the changes they want are allowing accused priests know the name of their accusers and to see the accusations in writing.

In a meeting with Ian Elliot, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, three of the ACP’s leaders outlined five areas they believe need to change in the guidelines, which are up for review in January.

Abuse survivor Marie Collins has warned that implementing these changes may deter victims from coming forward.

Ms Collins said victims would not want their name to be given immediately to their abuser before a full investigation was under way.

“It has to be remembered that an abuser has a great deal of power over a victim. The fear of their abuser’s anger at being exposed is very real.”

Other problems the ACP raised with the NBSCCC are the use of Mass to make a public announcement that a priest is standing aside from ministry, which the ACP believes “almost inevitably leads to the priest being considered guilty”.

The ACP said priests worry about someone making an allegation of abuse against them but not pursuing the matter further or making a statement to the gardaí or PSNI. “In this situation, the priest can be removed from ministry and left in limbo for many years,” the ACP warned.

Ms Collins said: “I do have sympathy for an accused in this situation.”

However, she said, if the person making the complaint does not want to go through with a criminal case, it did not necessarily mean the accusation is untrue. “Some victims just cannot face what a trial would involve.”

Another contentious area for accused priests arises when an allegation against a priest has been shown by the civil authorities to have no credibility. The ACP would like to see the priest returned to ministry as quickly as possible and, if an internal Church investigation is considered necessary, “it should be done expeditiously”, they said.

Fr Tony Flannery said that over the past two years, 12 priests have had allegations of abuse against them disproved.