Church 'Must Apologise'

The Catholic Church in Scotland has been told to 'address the wrongs of the past'.

An independent review into its handling of abuse allegations says the church's safeguarding guidelines should be updated.

The Very Reverend Andrew McLellan, who led the commission, says 'nothing is more important' than making support for the survivors of abuse an 'absolute priority'.

The McLellan Commission made eight recommendations:

•  Support for survivors of abuse must be an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland in the field of safeguarding.
• The policy and practice manual "Awareness and Safety in our Catholic Communities" should be completely revised or rewritten.
• There must be external scrutiny and independence in the safeguarding policies and practices of the Church.
• Effectiveness and improvement must be measured at every level of safeguarding in the Church.
• A consistent approach to safeguarding is essential - consistent across different parts of Scotland and consistent across different parts of the Church.
• Justice must be done, and justice must be seen to be done, for those who have been abused and for those against whom allegations of abuse are made.
• The priority of undertaking regular high-quality training and continuous professional development in safeguarding must be understood and accepted by all those involved in safeguarding at every level.
• The Church must set out a theology of safeguarding which is coherent and compelling.

Dr. McLellan commented: “There is unanimous agreement among members of the Commission about our eight recommendations. Nothing in our independent report is more important than our first recommendation: that support for the survivors of abuse must be an absolute priority for the Catholic Church in Scotland.”
 
“The Report has recommendations which can be measured. One year from now, or three years from now, the Catholic Church will be able to demonstrate how much progress has been made against our recommendations.”
  
“This is the greatest challenge facing the whole Catholic Church in Scotland. Change will come when the whole membership of the Church own this desire for change and embrace the agenda set out in our Report. If the Catholic Church in Scotland grabs this opportunity, then the Church will be a safer place for all.”