Child safeguarding body publishes report on Galway diocese

It’s based on case material made available by Bishop Martin Drennan along with interviews with key personnel who contribute to safeguarding within the diocese.

Galway Bay fm news notes the report references practice under the leadership of Bishop Drennan, Bishop McLoughlin and Bishop Casey.

For standard one which handles policy on keeping children safe, eight out of nine criteria are fully met and the report finds that the church organisation has a child protection policy that is written in a clear and easily understandable way.

For standard two on the management of allegations, five out of seven criterial are fully met and the group says there are clear child protection procedures.

It notes that three priests against whom an allegation has been made are still in ministry.

It also records that one priest has been convicted of having committed an offence against a child or young person in the period since January 1975.

Examining church inquiries and processes, it notes that in all cases prompt action was taken to remove men from ministry where credible allegations were made.

However, the exception to this appears in two cases – one of which was brought to the attention of Bishop Casey, which the report finds does not appear to have been afforded the attention it required during the early 1980s.

Bishop McLoughlin was informed of the concerns against this now deceased priest and removed him from ministry in 1995.

There was one other case which was brought to the attention of Bishop McLoughlin where it appears from the records that the complainant did not receive an appropriape response.

For standard three which deals with preventing harm to children, nine out of 12 criteria items are fully met.

For standard four handling training and education, all four categories are fully met and for standard five involving communicatin the safeguarding message, the report finds communication is well established in the diocese.

For standard six which deals with access to advice and support, four out of all five categories were fully met and it was clear reference complainants and their families were offered counselling.

The final standard on implementing and monitoring standards finds that three out of five criteria are fully met.

The report is one of six nationwide to be issued by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

It examines files from 1975 to 2010 and has been three months in the making with the main field work completed in January.