IRELAND
One in Four
Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent - Irish Times
A final policy document on child protection for the Catholic Church in Ireland was agreed at a meeting in Maynooth yesterday. The Church's Working Group on Child Protection arrived at the decision in what became its final meeting.
The working group disbanded last September after a row with church representatives over whether professionals or church leaders should decide how sex-abuse complaints were handled. It is understood church representatives felt such control should rest with church leaders. It is now clear that the handling of complaints will rest with relevant child protection specialists in each area.
Ms Maureen Lynott, chairwoman of the working group, indicated then she would remain available to meet the steering group, which represented the church bodies involved, should they develop a resolution to the differences.
Yesterday, Ms Lynott said members of the group had "unanimously" endorsed the Our Children Our Church policy document on child protection, and were satisfied that it was "a significant advancement in child protection and that all outstanding issues have now been resolved".
Posted by kshaw at January 28, 2005 09:25 AM