Deacon Frank Browne. Photo: X Speaking on Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme last week, Deacon Frank Browne, a permanent deacon attached to Rathfarnham Parish, lamented at what he sees as a common “message that’s continually in the media” surrounding the Church and abuse; a message he believes the Church needs to robustly counter by outlining the successes of its safeguarding systems and the rigorous procedures currently in place.
Addressing misconceptions about the rates of abusers in the Church, Deacon Browne admitted that he gets wound up by some people’s ignorance when it comes to the estimated rates of abuse in the Church and that these misconceptions need to be challenged with facts.
“What really winds me up is when I’m at work and I talk to my younger social work colleagues or at my local GAA pitch and I ask how many priests do you think abused?,” he said. “They never, ever have less than 30%. So there’s this notion that 30%, that’s basically one in three, abused. Bishop Diarmuid Martin believed at the time of the Murphy Report that this figure was around 7%.
“I’ve certainly argued on my safeguarding committee that there does come a point where the facts need to be proactively promoted because when it’s a bad report they get publicised nationally, quite rightly.”
Speaking from his experience as someone who’s actively involved in the life of the Church, Deacon Browne explained that he believes the safeguarding procedures the Church has introduced are more robust when compared with those in any other community organisation he’s been involved in or even experienced in his career as a social worker.
“I get Garda vetted every three years in my voluntary role in the diocese,” he said. “If you go into a sacristy, you have to sign a sign-in book and now it’s not just for children but it’s also for vulnerable adults. The Church had to get its act together and all I’m saying is it certainly has.
“There’s this message that’s continually in the media and the Church has to be more robust in saying, these are the actual facts.”