Child Safeguarding Policy Statement of the Constituent Members of the Catholic Church in Ireland
As a constituent member of the Catholic Church in Ireland, we
recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children, are committed to ensuring
their safety and well-being, and will work in partnership with
parents/guardians to do this. We recognise each child as a gift from God, and
we value and encourage the participation of children in all activities that
enhance their spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual and social
development.
All Church personnel (including clergy, religious, staff and
volunteers) have a responsibility to safeguard children through promoting their
welfare, health and development in a safe and caring environment that supports
their best interests and prevents abuse.
|
Details of Personnel to Contact if you are
Concerned about the Welfare and Safety of Children DLP:
Br Conal
Thomas Ph:
087 2269426 Email:
conalpthomas@eircom.net Deputy
DLP: Br James Mungovan Ph: 087
2303494 Email: james3494@eircom.net POLICE: Dublin - Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Unit Harcourt Square, Dublin 2 Ph: 01 6663430 Email: dvsaiu@garda.ie CHILD PROTECTION SERVICE: Tusla Child and
Family Agency: www.tusla.ie Ph: 091
546366 Galway/Roscommon:
25 Newcastle Road, Galway Ph: 057
9370700 Midlands: Mullingar Health Centre,
Longford Road, Mullingar,
Co. Westmeath. |
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN: POLICY AND STANDARDS FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN IRELAND 2016 SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN: POLICY AND STANDARDS FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN IRELAND 2016
In developing and implementing the Child Safeguarding Policy, this Church
body is guided by the following foundations:
Children have a key place in the heart of Jesus who said: ‘Whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it’ (Luke 18:17).
This places a sacred obligation on the Church to ensure that children are
welcomed, cherished and protected in a manner consistent with their central
place in the life of the Church.
2. Children’s rights, international and national law
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) outlines
the forty-two fundamental rights to be implemented in national law by
signatories to the convention (this includes the Holy See, Ireland and the
United Kingdom). Full realisation of these rights will ensure that children
will be ‘brought up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality
and solidarity’,[1]
whilst respecting the cultural identity of each child.
A number of the child protection rights contained in the UNCRC are
already present in key pieces of national law, canon law, and child and family
policy and guidance, including:
•
Children First Act, 2015
•
Better Outcomes Better Futures, DCYA, 2014
•
National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons
Act), 2012
•
Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences
Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act, 2012
•
Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and
Welfare of Children, DCYA, 2011
•
Criminal Justice Act, 2006
•
Our Duty to Care, DCYA, 2002
•
Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998
•
Child Care Act, 1991
•
The Constitution of
Ireland
Northern Ireland law, policy and guidance
•
Safeguarding Board Act (NI), 2011
•
Our Duty to Care (Volunteer Now), 2011
•
Our Children and Young People: Our Pledge, 2006
•
Cooperating to Safeguard Children, 2003
•
Children (NI) Order, 1995
•
Criminal Law Act (NI), 1967
In the laws of both jurisdictions, where there is a conflict between the best interests of the child and the interests of other parties, the best interests of the child are considered to have paramountcy.
In his Ad Limina
address to the Irish Bishops on 28 October 2006, Pope Benedict XVI stressed
the need to (i) establish the truth of what happened in the past; (ii) to take
whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again; (iii) to
ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected; and (iv) above all,
to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious
crimes.[2]
The statutory[3]
reports into historical child abuse that have involved the Catholic Church in
Ireland, as well as the reports of the reviews conducted by the National Board
of individual Church bodies, highlight past errors and recommend how child
safeguarding can be significantly improved.
As a Church we commit to this journey of justice, truth, healing and abuse prevention.
Together with the foundations outlined above, this Church
body, as part of the Catholic Church, commits to:
Each of us has a duty to notify the statutory authorities of suspicions,
concerns, knowledge or allegations that a child is being or has been abused:
• physically
• emotionally
• sexually
• through neglect
Suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations may relate to possible
abuse by a member of Church personnel, but they can also relate to incidents in
the child’s family, or elsewhere in the community.
Measures to create and maintain environments that are safe for children,
that prevent abuse, and that create nurturing, caring
conditions within the Church for children and the adults who work with them,
will continue to be strengthened and reviewed. This will be done through
training, support, communications and quality assurance.
Anyone who brings any suspicion, concern, knowledge or allegation of
current or past abuse of a child to the notice of the Church will be responded
to sensitively, respectfully, actively and in a timely manner, in line with
statutory child protection procedures and Church requirements.
All suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations that reach the
threshold for reporting to the statutory authorities (apart from those received
in the Sacrament of Reconciliation)[4]
will be reported via the designated liaison person to the appropriate statutory
authorities. This will be done irrespective of the status of the person (lay,
cleric or religious) who is suspected of having been abusive to a child. If the
allegation relates to a lay member of Church personnel, in addition to
notifying the statutory authorities, the allegation must be reported to the
Church authority. If the allegation relates to a cleric or religious, in
addition to notifying the statutory authorities, the allegation must also be
reported to the Church authority and the National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
All Church personnel will cooperate with the statutory authorities in all
cases.
In responding to complaints of child sexual abuse relating to clergy and
all those in forms of consecrated life, Church authorities will act in
accordance with the requirements of civil law and canon law, and so will
respect the rights and uphold the safeguards afforded in these, both to the
complainant and respondent.
Those who have suffered child abuse by Church personnel will receive a
compassionate and just response, and will be offered appropriate pastoral care,
counselling and support as they seek to rebuild their lives.
An appropriate pastoral response to the family, parish, congregation or
order and to the wider community will be provided, with due regard to the right
of privacy of those directly involved, and to the administration of justice.
This Church body in its response to suspicions, concerns, knowledge or
allegations of child sexual abuse will respect the rights under civil law and
canon law of an accused cleric or religious or other Church personnel. A legal
presumption of innocence will be maintained during the statutory and Church
inquiry processes. As the processes develop, additional assessment, therapy and
support services may be offered to the respondent.
The Church authority will take responsibility for ensuring that any cleric
or religious who is considered to constitute a danger to children is managed
according to a risk management plan.
All requisite steps will be taken to restore the good name and reputation
of anyone who has been wrongly accused of abusing a child.
Respondents belong to families and diocesan or religious communities. The
Church authority will be mindful of the need to provide support to members of
families and communities affected by the respondent’s changed situation.
This policy applies to all Church bodies and is addressed to all Church
personnel who are required to comply with it. Full understanding of and
adherence to this policy should lead to a deepening in the understanding of,
and respect for, the rights of children and young people to participate as
people of faith in the life of the Church.
The care and protection of children involved in Church activities is the
responsibility of the whole Church, and is a requirement that applies
regardless of the nature of the Church activities in which children are
involved. Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to
play in creating an environment in which children can develop and be safe.
This Church body will implement this policy by ensuring that all our
ministry and activities comply with applicable indicators of the seven
safeguarding standards.
1. Creating and Maintaining
Safe Environments.
2. Procedures for Responding
to Child Protection Suspicions, Concerns, Knowledge or Allegations.
3. Care and Support for the
Complainant.
4. Care and Management of the
Respondent.
5. Training and Support for
Keeping Children Safe.
6. Communicating the Church’s
Safeguarding Message.
7. Quality Assuring Compliance with the Standards.
On behalf of this Church body, as part of the Catholic Church in Ireland,
I commit to safeguarding children by agreeing to follow this Child Safeguarding
Policy.
I will abide by and uphold
the seven standards and the applicable indicators in our entire ministry and
contacts with children.
Church Authority: Br. Sean Conway
Date: November 8th
2016
On Behalf of: Franciscan Brothers, Newtown, Mountbellew, Co.
Galway, Ireland
[1] Preamble to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (United Nations).
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[2] Pope Benedict XVI, Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Bishops of Ireland on their Ad Limina visit, 28 October 2006 (Vatican: Liberia Editrice Vaticana).
[3] For further details, see Department of Children and Youth Affairs (2013), An examination of recommendations from inquiries into events in families and their interactions with State services, and their impact on policy and practice (Dublin: Stationery Office).
[4] The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason, Code of Canon Law, c.983.1, in Catholic Church (1983), The Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America).
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