Her name is Eileen Shearer and she is head of the national child protection programme promoted by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Appointed to the post by the Conference itself, Mrs Shearer will have the task of implementing the recommendations made in the Nolan Report on the sexual abuse of children. The definitive text of this report was presented in London a few months ago by the archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols. The programme is a real programme of action that aims, as Eileen Shearer explains, “to give security to children within the Church and inspire trust in their families”. Strengthened by over twenty year’s experience in the field of social services for children, Mrs Shearer will head COPCA, the Catholic Office for the protection of children and vulnerable adults, and coordinate the development of policies and procedures for the prevention of abuses. “ This appointment commented the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is the concrete sign that the Catholic Church has welcomed the recommendations of the Nolan Report and intends to implement them“. The Report, drafted by the Catholic judge Nolan and presented in its final version in October last year (cf. Sir Europe no.1/2001) makes 38 new suggestions to be added to the 50 recommendations contained in the first report, published in April 2001. The recommendations include the provision of confessionals with glass doors through which it would be possible to see without hearing the priest when he is confessing children and adolescents; the setting up of a data bank for controlling all the information on aspiring priests and ensuring they have not committed abuses in the past; and the appointment of someone responsible for the well-being of children in each parish, diocese and religious congregation.
