'Getting it' and getting it right - the Dublin Archdiocese's Child Protection Service

The Weekend Post
26th March 2010

I've already looked at the central message of the Letter, the Pope's call for Irish Catholics to start out on a path of renewal and our need for a new vision of what it means to be a Catholic to enable us to find this new path. In this week's Weekend Post I want to look at the Dublin Archdiocese's Child Protection Service.


Pope Benedict thanks 'the many men and women throughout Ireland already working for the safety of children in church envrionments'
In his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Pope Benedict says, 'It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they are applied fully and impartially' and he tells bishops and heads of religious congregations to cooperate with the civil authorities in doing this.
In the final paragraph, returning to this question of child protection, Benedict thanks 'the many men and women throughout Ireland already working for the safety of children in church environments' and adds 'while no effort should be spared in improving and updating existing procedures, I am encouraged by the fact that the current safeguarding practices adopted by local Churches are being seen, in some parts of the world, as a model for other institutions to follow.'

His use of the word 'safeguarding' seemed to echo the title of Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland, the basic document that sets out the standards that must be followed from now on by all Catholic Church organisations to ensure that children are properly protected.

If we were following that document, I think, it would show that we were starting to 'get it' as the exasperated phrase we keep hearing puts it.

I live in Dublin, my bishop is Archbishop Diarmuid Martin so I decided to have a look at the website of the Dublin Archdiocese to see if it looks as if he ‘gets it’, as if the Dublin Archdiocese ‘gets it’.

Is there a professional approach to child protection?

Have they published standards and guidelines for parishes to follow?

Are they based on best practice?

Are they training people how to implement them?

Have they a Designated Person to whom complaints of abuse are to be made?

Is there an independent body tasked with monitoring what they are doing?

And is the process transparent? Can we see the documents they are working from?


The Dublin Archdiocese has a Child Protection Service
I started by googling ‘Irish Bishops’. Up came Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the official website of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The website is http://www.catholicbishops.ie/  It has a map of the 26 dioceses - http://www.catholicbishops.ie/archdioceses-and-dioceses/view-map  Click on any diocese to access its website.

The website of the Dublin Archdiocese is http://www.dublindiocese.ie/  And on the home page there is a clearly marked link to the Dublin Diocesan Child Protection Service http://www.cps.dublindiocese.ie/

The role of the Child Protection Service is to help the Diocese implement its child protection policies and procedures, both in terms of prevention and in response to allegations, provides pastoral outreach and support for victims of child abuse and can provide advice, guidance and assistance for anyone working with children and young people.

Dublin Diocese's Child Protection Service is based on Children FirstBut what’s it based on, this Child Protection service? It’s based on two documents, the statutory good practice document for the Republic, Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children issued by the Department of Health and Children http://www.omc.gov.ie/documents/childcare/ChildrenFirst.pdf
(The statutory document setting out good practice for Northern Ireland is Cooperating to Safeguard Children http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/show_publications?txtid=14022  )

but also on the good practice document issued by a new independent body set up by the Church for this purpose, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

The Church set up an independent body to formulate and monitor best practice - the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church
In December 2005 the Irish Bishops’ Conference together with the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Missionary Union, launched Our Children, Our Church: Child Protection Policies and Procedures in the Catholic Church in Ireland, and one of its stated objectives was to produce ‘a unified approach to child protection across the Catholic Church in Ireland.’ To move towards this goal they established the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church to assist those implementing safeguarding policy and procedures throughout the Church in Ireland to achieve a consistent and up-to-date standard of best practice.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church issued a best practice document,  Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church found in 2008 that in the preceding three years most diocese and religious orders produced and implemented their own policies and procedures largely in isolation from each other, resulting in ‘a multiplicity of guidance which contains different interpretations of what represents best practice for the Church.’ To address this variation the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church issued the 96-page Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland (September 2008) (http://www.safeguarding.ie/downloads-1)


Dublin Diocese's Child Protection Service is also based on the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church's best practice document, Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland
The very fact that all the foundational documents are posted for downloading is part of the commitment to openness. The different tasks are identified and the people responsible for each task are named and their contact details are given (http://www.cps.dublindiocese.ie/contactus.shtml)
The postal address is Child Protection Service, Holy Cross Diocesan Centre, Clonliffe College, Dublin 3. Ireland.

In line with good practice, the Dublin Child Protection Service has a clearly identified person that anyone who has a complaint about child protection may contact in the Dublin Archdiocese. This person is known as the Designated Person and Child Protection Officer and their contact details are given on the website.

There is a Victim Support Coordinator who provides support for someone making a complaint and for their family, and helps them present their concerns within the diocesan administration.

The Child Protection Service states clearly ‘It is Diocesan policy to report all allegations of child sexual abuse to the civil authorities.’

It also states ‘The Archbishop ensures that no priest is permitted to minister in the Diocese against whom an allegation has been made, who is considered by the Diocesan Child Protection Service, the Diocesan Advisory Panel, the Health Services Executive or the Gardaí to be a risk to children.

If an allegation is made against a priest, there is someone responsible for explaining this process to them as well.

‘Priests who are out of ministry as a result of child protection concerns are required to co-operate with a monitoring system operated by the Child Protection Service.’ And ‘The Gardai and the Health Services Executive are kept informed of the support systems put in place for priests who are out of ministry and are notified of any changes in their circumstances.’

There is someone responsible for the Training and Development of people and Child Protection Services, and their contact details are also given.

Numbers of people who have received Child Protection training
‘Every parish in the Archdiocese of Dublin has a trained child protection representative in place. 2,100 parish volunteers and Diocesan Organisation personnel and volunteers have participated in the Keeping Safe programme as licensed by the Volunteer Development Agency and used by the Health Services Executive.

They have a Garda Vetting Policy and 7,065 personnel have taken part in the Garda Vetting Process, including clergy, parish workers and volunteers, Diocesan agency workers and volunteers and ancillary staff in Catholic schools.

All Catholic schools in the Dublin Archdiocese, like every other school in the country, are required to implement Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The Teaching Council vets teachers.

The Dublin Diocesan Education Secretariat has also carried out training for Boards of Management in Dublin Catholic schools to ensure best practice in child protection, which is monitored on an ongoing basis.

The website provides links to non-Church agencies offering support services to abuse victims
The website also provides links to State agencies to whom one may report allegations or complaints of abuse, including links to lists of all Garda Stations and all Health Boards, and links to a range of non-Catholic-Church agencies providing support services both for adults children who may wish to discuss or seek help in relation to abuse, violence rape or related issues. This is sensible as people who have had a bad experience with the Church may only be able to open up to and trust non-Church agencies.

And there are links to the British and American Catholic child protection services.


‘The independence of the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children has been established, and it is from that point of independence I can now confirm that the capacity to protect children within the Catholic Church has radically improved over the past two years.’ Ian Elliott, Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

In an article earlier this month in the Irish Catholic, Ian Elliott, Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, says that two years ago ‘as became publicly evident, some bishops were less than committed to the work of the Board’, but that since then, ‘a shift in attitude and behaviour has happened.’

‘That change’, he notes, ‘should be acknowledged. The Catholic Church, the largest membership organisation on the island with more than four million members, had, bluntly, lost sight of the need to put the safety of children first. It was slow, disorganised and inconsistent in its addressing of the child abuse issue.’

‘It cannot change its past.’ he goes on, ‘However it can alter its present and its future by placing the focus on children’s safety, helped by the wisdom of those who have experienced harm within the Church.’

‘The independence of the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children has been established,’ Ian Elliott continues, ‘and it is from that point of independence I can now confirm that the capacity to protect children within the Catholic Church has radically improved over the past two years.’

He concludes on a note of hope and encouragement: ‘If all aspects of hierarchical commitment continue, the island of Ireland could within the foreseeable future, become a case study in excellence where the safeguarding of children is concerned.’

All that sounds and looks to me like what we want in place to protect our children. It looks like Dublin Archdiocese not only ‘gets it’ but is getting it right on Child Protection.
Appendix
If you want to see how other dioceses present their child protection provisions on their websites, here is an alphabetical list of them:

Achonry: http://www.achonrydiocese.org/

Ardagh and Clonmacnoise: http://www.ardaghdiocese.org/

Armagh: http://www.archdioceseofarmagh.org/

Cashel and Emly: http://www.cashel-emly.ie/

Clogher: http://www.clogherdiocese.ie/

Clonfert: http://www.clonfertdiocese.ie/

Cloyne: http://www.cloynediocese.ie/

Cork and Ross: http://www.corkandross.org/

Derry: http://www.derrydiocese.org/

Down and Connor: http://www.downandconnor.org/

Dromore: http://www.dromorediocese.org/

Dublin: http://www.dublindiocese.ie/

Elphin: http://www.elphindiocese.ie/

Ferns: http://www.ferns.ie/

Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora: http://www.galwaydiocese.ie/

Kerry: http://www.dioceseofkerry.ie/

Kildare and Leighlin: http://www.kandle.ie/

Killala: http://www.killaladiocese.org/

Killaloe: http://www.killaloediocese.ie/

Kilmore: http://www.kilmorediocese.ie/

Limerick: http://www.limerickdiocese.org/

Meath: http://www.dioceseofmeath.ie/

Ossory: http://www.ossory.ie/

Raphoe: http://www.raphoediocese.ie/

Tuam: http://tuamarchdiocese.org/

Waterford and Lismore: http://www.waterfordlismore.com/