For the protection of children” “” “

“We welcome this report, conscious of our special responsibility to guarantee the safety of children. The bishops of England and Wales have accepted the urgent need to apply the best practices in this field. In collaboration with the Conference of religious and the National Conference of priests, we believe we have made much progress”. So said Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, chairman of COPCA (Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults), on presenting the first annual COPCA Report in London in recent days. Referring to the period January-December 2002, the document gives an account of the first year’s activity of the Office set up by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales for the prevention of the sexual abuse of children in the light of the action programme formulated by Lord Nolan in 2001. Following the widespread news of cases of sexual abuse committed against children by churchmen, Lord Nolan, former Chancellor of Essex University, was commissioned by the archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’ Connor, in 2000 to chair an independent committee to examine the question within the Catholic Church of England and Wales and make recommendations to prevent such abuses from occurring in the future. Commissions for the protection of children. “The terrible injury inflicted by the abuse of children – said Archbishop Nichols – is a cause of deep anguish for us all, but in tackling this tragedy in a clear and determined way, we believe it is possible to restore trust in the Church”. “Openness, transparency and the adoption of national procedures on the matter in the light of the best policies for the protection of childhood”: these are the recommendations of Lord Nolan accepted by COPCA. “The 22 dioceses of England and Wales – says the report – have furnished information on the matter to COPCA. Each year they will be asked for a detailed report”. Meanwhile 148 requests for intervention have been registered: 132 for sexual abuse on minors and 16 for physical violence. In each diocese, the report explains, a Commission for the protection of the child has been set up, often coordinated by a priest or deacon, but whose members also include outside professionals and experts in this field, who in three cases chair the commission. At the local level, 2,428 representatives for the protection of children have been recruited and trained; they are now active in 2,663 parishes. Vigilance and transparency. “There are no easy answers – observed the head of COPCA, Eileen Shearer, who has been involved for over a quarter of a century in the protection of childhood –; this report marks the beginning of a new approach to the protection of children within the Catholic Church, which is putting in place various concrete measures for the creation of an environment in which children and vulnerable adults may feel safe and serene. It’s a process distinguished by the best practices and by absolute transparency”, she stressed, and is aimed at “creating a culture of awareness and vigilance”. The prevention of abuses is based, first of all, on the careful selection of suitable persons “to occupy positions in which they could have the opportunity to commit abuses [on children] and, thanks to their role, use their powers to conceal them”. The report also stresses the need to create a “centralised and confidential database to which all the dioceses and religious congregations could refer”, and also “a closer link with State agencies at the national level, including the new criminal Archive”, as suggested by Lord Nolan. There is no doubt that “in the past the victims of abuse have at times felt a lack of understanding”; it is essential on the contrary that they “be treated in an appropriate way with care and sensitivity”.