Belgium, Ireland

Belgium: appeal court ruling on police searchesThe Appeal Court in Brussels has declared invalid the searches carried out in the headquarters of the archdiocese of Malines-Bruxelles in June last year as part of the ongoing inquiry into alleged sexual abuses by members of the clergy. The judges established that this police operation, code-named “Chalice” at the time, was disproportionate. The same judgement is expressed about the search conducted on the same day in the private residence of Cardinal Godfried Danneels. Following the sentence, everything impounded during the searches will have to be returned to its legitimate owners and all the evidence collected through these police operations must be considered invalid. Last year the Appeal Court had already declared invalid, with the same motivations, the search conducted in the offices of the commission of inquiry set up by the Belgian Bishops’ Conference itself. The searches conducted as part of Operation “Chalice” had been ordered by the judge in charge of the official inquiry Wim de Troy and had involved the archbishop’s palace in Malines, the home of Archbishop Danneels, the cathedral of Malines and the offices of the commission on sexual abuses chaired by the psychiatrist Peter Adriaenssens. Subsequent to these searches, the Holy See itself had expressed its astonishment at the way in which the searches had been carried out, while the Adriaenssens Commission had resigned en masse, maintaining that it could no longer continue its work. Satisfaction in the ruling of the Appeal Court has been expressed by Cardinal Danneels’ lawyers.Ireland: report on anti-abuse practicesThe National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NSBCCC) in Ireland has published, on 30 November, 6 Reports relating to six Irish dioceses in which the child protection measures put in place to prevent cases of abuse are examined and progress reviewed. The document re-defines the allegations and evaluates how they have been tackled, interviews key persons in the inquiries, and especially publishes a series of recommendations to ensure that the Church’s commitment to the safeguarding and protection of children be maintained at the highest levels. The dioceses involved are Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Derry, Dromore, Kilmore, Raphoe and Tuam, which have pooled their individual Reports on Safeguarding Pratice accompanied by press releases put out by their respective bishops. “Each allegation – comments for example Bishop Leo O’Reilly of Kilmore – represents a person who has suffered and my thoughts today are very much with the survivors of abuse. I am aware that the publication of this and other Reviews of Child Safeguarding today may reopen painful wounds of those who have suffered abuse at the hands of priests. I once again apologise to them and express my anger and deep sadness that they experienced this betrayal by those who should have brought them Christ’s love and compassion”. The Irish bishops also express their “gratitude” and their thanks to all those who work in the National Board. “The Report – writes Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam – illustrates the strong procedures that have been put in place to ensure that children are safe”. “I wish to thank the staff of the National Board – writes for his part the Archbishop of Dromore, John McAreavey – for the professionalism with which they are conducting this review. Subjecting each and every diocese to the scrutiny of an independent organ is not easy. The National Board has performed its work well, helping us to recognize both our own strengths and our own weaknesses. The final Report also contains a series of recommendations which help us to improve”. The Bishop of Raphoe admits: “Insufficient emphasis was placed on the needs of victims, often in the ‘misguided attempt’ to protect the reputation of the Church. There have been frequent cases of delays and even of rejection of the denunciations and complaints on the sexual abuse of children”. In offering his “humble apologies” the bishop promises: “The hope is these very grave errors be never repeated again”. And in all their statements, the bishops report the setting up of a dedicated helpline (Towards Healing) that is up and running in Ireland, England and Northern Ireland, to which anyone can have recourse to ask for services of counselling and support in the case of abuse.