” “United Kingdom: constant vigilance

On the 23 and 24 April the thirteen cardinals of the United States will meet in Rome, together with the prefects of the Congregations for the Clergy, for the Doctrine of the Faith and for the Bishops to examine the problems that have arisen in the Church of the USA following recent scandals connected with paedophilia and to formulate guidelines with a view to restoring security and serenity to families and confidence to the clergy and faithful. The European Churches too have intervened in this field. In recent days the bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, in Switzerland , Msgr. Bernard Genoud, announced the setting up of a telephone hotline reserved for pastoral workers who would like to report suspect cases or situations; the creation of a counselling service for the victims of paedophilia run by Caritas; and particular measures aimed at the assessment and discernment of vocations. In Austria , for some time now persons responsible for child protection have been appointed by the bishop in each diocese to whom cases can be reported and who can be approached in cases of difficulty. In the United Kingdom , the Catholic Church has conducted a wide-ranging reflection and survey on the problem of paedophilia, published in the Nolan Report, so called from the name of the judge who chaired the committee that prepared it; the Report was published last September (cf. SirEurope no.1/2001). We interviewed Eileen Shearer who heads the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, an agency given the task of monitoring the implementation of the measures recommended by the Nolan Report. What are the main measures implemented by the Catholic Church in England to curb paedophilia? “The Nolan Report recommended constant vigilance to ensure that cases of sexual abuse committed against juveniles do not occur. It also called for the creation of several structures to guard against this peril. First, the appointment in each parish, diocese and religious order of a person responsible for the protection of children. Second, the creation of a continuously updated data bank on those who have been sentenced for acts of paedophilia. Third, the setting up of a national office with the task of monitoring the full and correct implementation of the programme provided by the Nolan Report. The role of general control and supervision is assigned to a commission composed of three bishops and chaired by the archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols”. How were these measures being accepted by the faithful? “The expectations among the faithful and public opinion at large for the Church to take prompt and appropriate action are high. At the same time people are less willing to tolerate or accept shortcomings and difficulties that may arise in the ecclesial community, as in other situations. It is often forgotten in fact that the majority of cases of abuse against juveniles are committed within the family. It is just in response to these expectations and the great suffering caused to children and their families as a result of sexual abuse that we are in the process of carrying out a very incisive series of measures and trying to implement fully the recommendations of the Nolan Report. In the past, those who denounced cases of paedophilia in the Church were not even listened to. Today, the Catholic Church is becoming a model of sensitivity, attention and vigilance to these problems”. How do you judge the way the press treats these problems? “Unfortunately I think there has been, and continues to be, a good deal of scandal-mongering on these issues. It seems to me that some journalists have especially targeted the Catholic Church, and have exaggerated their accusations. The impression has thus been given – a mistaken one – that a larger number of cases of child abuse are registered in the Catholic Church than in other social institutions. That is not the case. Undoubtedly in the past some paedophiles did manage to insert themselves in some structures of the Catholic Church to gain easier access to children. But today, as I have said, we have greatly increased our vigilance to avert such risks”. S.G.