SCOTLAND
Scotsman
by EDDIE BARNES
Published on the 25 August 2013
A CLAIM by a leading Catholic bishop that disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien blocked a report on sex abuse runs contrary to church law, insiders have claimed.
Archbishop Mario Conti, the former archbishop of Glasgow, said last week the former head of the church in Scotland delayed plans to commission an independent examination of clerical sex offences going back decades. Without his backing, the other bishops also decided to delay, he said, claiming such an exercise “would have been faulty” without O’Brien.
But amid anger among Catholic laity over the handling of the scandals, insiders said the church’s own law showed bishops can press ahead in their own dioceses, and cannot be stopped by colleagues.
The church said yesterday that, once O’Brien’s successor Monsignor Leo Cushley is in place this autumn, an audit will be released showing complaints against clergy, church workers and volunteers.
But critics said that only an independent audit of historic abuse was required, and said the failure of individual bishops to publish details was an example of “delaying tactics”.
One insider said: “Why did seven bishops apparently bow to the sensitivities of one bishop and not give precedence to the sensitivities of the people abused by church employees? “If they cared so much, why not publish their own diocesan records and leave the public to take a view on O’Brien’s refusal to do so?”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.