Greg Daly
Kilmore Diocese appears to be a model for child protection, writes Greg Daly
Anyone in doubt about the role of canon law and proper application of Church processes in tackling child sexual abuse would do well to look at the newly-released ‘Second Review of Child Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Kilmore’.
Following on from the original 2010 review that focused on case management in the diocese going back to 1975, the second review was a pilot exercise, conducted earlier this year, looking primarily at current safeguarding in the diocese.
The review reveals that since 2010 there have been a total of 10 allegations of abuse against four priests of the diocese who are still alive, two priests who are now dead, and a priest who did summer supply work in the diocese in the 1980s. Most allegations relate to the 1980s, with the earliest allegation relating to the mid-1960s and the latest relating to 1991.
One cleric, first accused in 2011 of abuse in the 1980s, was reported to An Garda, but although no criminal prosecution has followed, he continues to be out of ministry, and another cleric, about whom the diocese was informed in 2013, also remains out of ministry during a canonical investigation, despite there having been no conviction when the matter went before the courts in 2017.
The burden of proof is lower in Church trials than in civil ones, dependent on a balance of probabilities rather than a requirement that there be no reasonable doubt.
Canonical action has been deferred in connection with another priest, allegations about whom were first made in 2011, despite a criminal conviction in 2014 and a period of imprisonment, as further criminal investigations are afoot.
Considering these and other allegations, the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church makes clear that their handling has been exemplary, with all information being speedily and properly shared with state bodies, record-keeping being “excellent”, evidence being collected and evaluated fairly and clearly, and extensive and effective pastoral work being undertaken with complainants, notably those whose alleged abusers are now dead.
In particular, the board praises the diocese for its work with State bodies in this area.
Hampered
2005’s Ferns Report, it notes, had called for inter-agency review committees in which An Garda, HSE (now Tusla), and dioceses could cooperate in case management, but says the implementation of this has been hampered by data protection concerns and by Garda worries about compromising criminal investigations.
Despite this, it says, the Diocese of Kilmore, Tusla, and An Garda have found a way of conducting such a committee on a regular basis.
“This forum is not founded on any formal written protocol, and so depends to a degree on the willingness of people in posts of responsibility to be open to information-sharing and cooperation,” the board says, noting how the committee is evidence of the bishop sharing important information around child protection with those who need to know in order to keep children safe.
It describes this as “another example of how the development and supporting of good relationships is a thread that runs right through child safeguarding in Kilmore diocese”.
New standards
The review as a whole has been conducted in light of the new standards and guidelines introduced by the board over the last two years, and so as well as evaluating how allegations have been handled, it vets the diocese in terms of how it creates and maintains safe environments for children, how it cares for complainants and those complained about, how it trains people to keep children safe, how it communicates the Church’s safeguarding message, and how it assures the standards themselves are kept to.
Overall, the board’s review is a rave rating, concluding that “At the end of a rigorous process, the reviewers confirm that without any doubt there is significant evidence across all the standards of quality people providing best practice approaches to child safeguarding, reporting allegations, providing flexible care to complainants and ensuring that those accused are dealt with fairly and are monitored.”
It seems that Kilmore’s children’s ministry – which the board praises as “significant” – is in very safe hands.