Religious Orders Told They Must Improve When Dealing with Abuse
By Sarah MacDonald
That was one of the key findings of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) in its sixth tranche of safeguarding audits, which were published yesterday. The reviews cover five male religious congregations and 13 female religious congregations and document 121 allegations against 54 priests and religious brothers or sisters which resulted in just two criminal convictions. The audits also found that time frames for reporting abuse allegations to the civil authorities up to 2009 was "variable", but has "improved considerably since the introduction of the Safeguarding Children, Standards and Guidance". While management plans for dealing with accused priests and religious figures "have improved significantly over time" the review said there was "still room for improvement". This latest set of audits introduced a new framework for assessing small religious congregations with very limited contact with children, who have no allegations of sexual abuse in Ireland, and a membership that is advanced in age. This newly-devised framework was used for 10 of the 18 congregations assessed in the sixth tranche. The findings were generally positive about the safeguarding practices in these orders which included the Medical Missionaries of Mary; Faithful Companions of Jesus and Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions. The other eight congregations were assessed more in-depth according to the established seven standards. These reviews covered the St Joseph's Society for Foreign Missions, better known as the Mill Hill Fathers; the Sisters of St Louis; Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers); Pallottine Order; Redemptorists; Presentation Sisters; Vincentians and the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Sisters, who are well-known for running the mother-and-baby homes in places such as Sean Ross Abbey. This latter congregation is the subject of a State review on the operation of their mother-and-baby homes, but these institutions were not covered by the NBSCCCI audits, as they were closed down in the 1960s. The National Board is tasked with auditing the period from 1975 onwards. Another key finding related to missionary orders whose members faced allegations both in Ireland and in the missionary countries. Increasingly the congregations managed such cases by returning the accused priest to Ireland and placing him under restrictions in houses here. However, the NBSCCCI highlighted that where allegations were made against Irish religious outside the jurisdiction, it was rare for the complainant to pursue criminal or civil investigations. "In these instances the Church inquiries are critical in establishing if there is a semblance of truth to the allegation and in the management of risk," the NBSCCCI said. In its review of the Mill Hill missionaries, the NBSCCCI audit noted that one of the two new cases referred to it since 2009 related to Father D [Fr Kevin Reynolds] who whom was the victim of false allegations made by the RTE Prime Time Investigates programme 'Mission to Prey'. The priest won his High Court defamation action, compensation and a public apology as a result of his mistreatment by the programme. Having read the safeguarding records, the NBSCCCI reviewers concurred with the decision to return this priest to ministry. The NBSCCCI is planning to finalise new standards in draft form by next March. A process of training will then start and a review will take place from next summer on. However, the amendment of the Children First legislation may delay this. Irish Independent
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