By Juno Mcenroe
Irish Examiner
January 23, 2009
http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=82660-qqqx=1.asp
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| John Magee |
THE Catholic Church is to hold an emergency meeting today to address the continuing fallout following the mishandling of child abuse claims in the Diocese of Cloyne.
Cardinal Sean Brady, as president of the bishops’ conference, called the meeting following discussions in his own diocese this week.
The move comes amid speculation the Vatican asked him to take immediate action.
Cardinal Brady is expected to ask bishops to give a written commitment that they will implement all statutory child protection guidelines as well as policies agreed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
The request comes after a chorus of demands last month for Bishop John Magee to step aside after the Church’s own child protection board found the handling of child sex abuse allegations in the Diocese of Cloyne were “inadequate and in some respects dangerous”.
Bishops are expected to be asked to sign off on both the state and Church protection measures voluntarily, which will then make them answerable to Rome.
According to the Irish Catholic magazine, Cardinal Brady is known to have had lengthy discussions with the Vatican who have asked him to take immediate action. This was denied by a spokesman for the bishops’ conference last night.
Bishops failed to give details of individual abuse claims in a recent Health Service Executive (HSE) audit of all diocesan investigations.
Today’s special meeting of the Catholics Bishops’ Conference in Maynooth is the first of its kind since a crisis meeting of bishops was called immediately after the release of the shocking Ferns abuse report in 2005.
There is growing speculation that if bishops agree in writing to both state and Church guidelines, it could open the way for the full review of diocesan practices.
Earlier this month, Cardinal Brady issued a statement on safeguarding children in the Church and outlined a series of measures he wanted enacted. In a move that caused great unease within the Church and among children’s rights groups, he also gave unconditional support to Bishop Magee.
Children’s groups have called on bishops to agree to clear investigation practices across all dioceses.
The Irish Society for the Protection of Children said it was important that all child sex abuse investigations and safeguarding measures were underpinned by statutory guidelines.
The Children’s Rights Alliance demanded bishops in future pass all allegations to gardai and the HSE and all dioceses enforce the same child protection measures.
“We’d like them to ensure the same standards [of investigation] apply across the country and that it’s not just down to individual bishops,” added the alliance’s chief executive Jillian van Turnhout.
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