Newsletter is not attempt by Diocese to improve reputation

Cloyne Diocesan Safeguarding Children Committee (CDSCC) rejects the assertion in the Irish Examiner (Mar 28) that our recently launched Safeguarding Children Newsletter “is an attempt by the diocese to improve its damaged reputation…”

We reject this assertion because (i) it is not true (ii) it detracts from the bona fides that underpins the publication (iii) it taints the first issue of the newsletter and could, if allowed to go unchallenged, taint future editions (iv) it is detrimental to the work of safeguarding children in the diocese insofar as it publicly ascribes an ulterior motive to something which is fundamentally and solely aimed at promoting best practice in safeguarding children, through provision of useful information to which the public is rightfully entitled (v) it could undermine the confidence of those who are vulnerable in the safeguarding structures of the diocese.

The newsletter, which is just one component of best practice in child safeguarding, is the brainchild of Cloyne Diocesan Safeguarding Children Committee (CDSCC) and it was structured, produced and circulated by them with one aim in mind — promoting best practice in the safeguarding of children in the diocese.