Latest news with #non-Church
The Sun
29-05-2025
- The Sun
Italy's bishops cite more abuse victims in past two years
ROME: Italian Catholic Church dioceses documented 69 cases of alleged abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the past two years, most within the parish setting, the Bishops Conference said Wednesday. In a 98-page report -- designed to track progress in tackling clerical sex abuse within dioceses -- it said the 69 cases over 2023 and 2024 involved 118 alleged victims, nearly a third of whom were between 10 to 14 years old. In 2022, the survey documented 54 potential victims in 32 cases of abuse. Eleven of the cases identified in Wednesday's report involved sexual relations, with 19 involving sexual molestation and 25 cases of touching. Out of 67 alleged perpetrators, 44 were clerics, 15 were defined as other religious people and the rest were lay people working in the parish. They had an average age of 50 and all bar two were men. Confronting a tide of revelations around the world about paedophile priests and cover-ups by senior clergy, the late Pope Francis vowed an 'all-out battle' against paedophilia within the Church in 2019. But critics say not enough is being done, and in Italy, lament the absence of a national inquiry. The Italian Bishops Conference said the rise in potential victims and perpetrators 'can be interpreted as the emergence of facts and situations that were hidden in the past'. 'But it must still be noted as a wound that is still present in the ecclesial and social life of the Christian community,' it said. Last year, only 373 people sought information, counsel or other services at one of the Italian dioceses' 103 'listening centres' to support victims. Those centres are mainly run by lay women, many of whom are psychologists or educators. The centres reported only 14 cases in which they were aware of an abuse case being reported to secular judicial authorities. The Vatican does not require bishops to automatically refer abuse cases to police. For internal Church investigations, respondents said 16 cases were subject to a preliminary investigation and 11 cases resulted in penalties or other restrictions. Six cases were forwarded to the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose duties include disciplinary matters involving sexual abuse cases. One case resulted in a conviction and in five others the process was pending, the report found. The conference cited progress over the last two years in training priests, religious and other pastoral workers in how to identify and combat abuse and support victims. But it noted a lack of collaboration with local entities -- which could potentially include police, health authorities or non-parochial schools. Nearly 82 percent of Italy's dioceses said they had no initiatives or collaboration with non-Church entities. One quoted survey respondent noted the need for 'a more transparent and courageous attitude of the Church in recognising cases of abuse that have happened in its own sphere -- even when it comes to bishops accused of abuse and those who have covered up abuse'.
The Sun
29-05-2025
- The Sun
Italy's Catholic Church Reports 69 Abuse Cases in 2 Years
ROME: Italian Catholic Church dioceses documented 69 cases of alleged abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the past two years, most within the parish setting, the Bishops Conference said Wednesday. In a 98-page report -- designed to track progress in tackling clerical sex abuse within dioceses -- it said the 69 cases over 2023 and 2024 involved 118 alleged victims, nearly a third of whom were between 10 to 14 years old. In 2022, the survey documented 54 potential victims in 32 cases of abuse. Eleven of the cases identified in Wednesday's report involved sexual relations, with 19 involving sexual molestation and 25 cases of touching. Out of 67 alleged perpetrators, 44 were clerics, 15 were defined as other religious people and the rest were lay people working in the parish. They had an average age of 50 and all bar two were men. Confronting a tide of revelations around the world about paedophile priests and cover-ups by senior clergy, the late Pope Francis vowed an 'all-out battle' against paedophilia within the Church in 2019. But critics say not enough is being done, and in Italy, lament the absence of a national inquiry. The Italian Bishops Conference said the rise in potential victims and perpetrators 'can be interpreted as the emergence of facts and situations that were hidden in the past'. 'But it must still be noted as a wound that is still present in the ecclesial and social life of the Christian community,' it said. Last year, only 373 people sought information, counsel or other services at one of the Italian dioceses' 103 'listening centres' to support victims. Those centres are mainly run by lay women, many of whom are psychologists or educators. The centres reported only 14 cases in which they were aware of an abuse case being reported to secular judicial authorities. The Vatican does not require bishops to automatically refer abuse cases to police. For internal Church investigations, respondents said 16 cases were subject to a preliminary investigation and 11 cases resulted in penalties or other restrictions. Six cases were forwarded to the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose duties include disciplinary matters involving sexual abuse cases. One case resulted in a conviction and in five others the process was pending, the report found. The conference cited progress over the last two years in training priests, religious and other pastoral workers in how to identify and combat abuse and support victims. But it noted a lack of collaboration with local entities -- which could potentially include police, health authorities or non-parochial schools. Nearly 82 percent of Italy's dioceses said they had no initiatives or collaboration with non-Church entities. One quoted survey respondent noted the need for 'a more transparent and courageous attitude of the Church in recognising cases of abuse that have happened in its own sphere -- even when it comes to bishops accused of abuse and those who have covered up abuse'.
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Minister: Abuse victims deserve change rather than lamenting and repenting
Abuse victims deserve change from institutions rather than 'lamenting and repenting', a minister said as MPs pressed for fully independent safeguarding in the Church of England (CoE). Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined to be drawn on what changes the CoE should make in light of recent safeguarding failures after condemning abuse suffered by adults and children. But she insisted victims of institutional abuse are owed a debt for coming forward, also saying: 'We owe them change.' Ms Phillips, whose portfolio includes safeguarding matters, made the remarks as she responded to a House of Commons debate on safeguarding in the CoE. Victims had urged the Church's parliament to endorse a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body. But the General Synod last month voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' and for 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence. The endorsed model would see most national staff move to a new outside non-Church body, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers. The Church has been plagued by safeguarding controversies over the years, with a damning report into serial abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth leading to the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. Ms Phillips said: 'Whilst I cannot tell the Synod what it has to do, I condemn the acts of psychological, emotional and physical abuse and sexual abuse against both adults and children, including where they occur in religious settings or contexts.' Ms Phillips recalled issues faced by the Houses of Parliament and how she and others fought to have an 'independent process to oversee issues of sexual abuse and violence within this institution'. She added: 'What I know of the years of working on the frontline with victims of both historical and current abuses – usually sexual abuse that I am talking about in this particular instance – is that victims will tell me that what happened to them was horrendous. 'What continued to happen to them because of failures of institutions to act is worse.' 'While some improvements have been made, there remain systemic underlying vulnerabilities arising from the church's structure of safeguarding. In her concluding remarks, Ms Phillips said: 'There should be no status that is protected from scrutiny and cultures of silence through wilful ignorance or, worse, malign intent to safeguard reputations above children must end. It must end wherever we see it. 'Lamenting and repenting is all well and good, but what my mum used to say to me is 'Sorry is just a word you say, changing your behaviour proves to me that you are sorry'. 'We owe a debt to the victims who come forward about any institutional abuse, we owe them more than lamenting and repenting, we owe them change.' Opening the debate, Labour MP Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) said the Church is 'marking its own homework' as he called for an independent body that would provide uniform safeguarding practices across the country. Mr Myer said: 'While some improvements have been made, there remain systemic underlying vulnerabilities arising from the church's structure of safeguarding. 'Survivors have told me that there are complex, hard to navigate structures and slow, institutionally defensive responses, and what emerged from around 2020 was a call for an independent structure to oversee safeguarding practices.' Mr Myer referred to a 2024 report by Professor Alexis Jay entitled the Future of Church Safeguarding in the Church of England. He said: 'Professor Jay's report said the only way in which safeguarding can be improved is by making it truly independent of the Church. 'The central problem is that the complexity of the Church means that rather than one approach, there are 42 different dioceses each with different safeguarding systems. 'Safeguarding practitioners have said that this limits effective safeguarding. As Professor Jay noted in her report, Church safeguarding service falls below the standards of consistency expected and set in secular organisations.' Mr Myer further stated: 'It is simply not acceptable that the experience of survivors should vary depending on where they live. There must be a system that is unified and consistent, evenly resourced with the same quality of support respecting the independent expertise of safeguarding professionals.' He concluded: 'The reality is that, as things stand, this patchwork of procedures remains and the Church remains, effectively marking its own homework. This is clearly not acceptable.' Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, the CoE's Commons representative in her role as Second Church Estates Commissioner, said 'there is still a long way to go'. She said: 'The Church must treat its work for independent safeguarding operations as a matter of urgency. 'We need no more blocking, we just need action, because action really will speak louder than any of the words than any of us have got to say here today.' Jonathan Davies, the Labour MP for Mid Derbyshire, said the church 'absolutely must get this issue right', warning that 'if it fails to do so, it will face an existential threat'.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minister: Abuse victims deserve change rather than lamenting and repenting
Abuse victims deserve change from institutions rather than 'lamenting and repenting', a minister said as MPs pressed for fully independent safeguarding in the Church of England (CoE). Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined to be drawn on what changes the CoE should make in light of recent safeguarding failures after condemning abuse suffered by adults and children. But she insisted victims of institutional abuse are owed a debt for coming forward, also saying: 'We owe them change.' Ms Phillips, whose portfolio includes safeguarding matters, made the remarks as she responded to a House of Commons debate on safeguarding in the CoE. Victims had urged the Church's parliament to endorse a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body. But the General Synod last month voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' and for 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence. The endorsed model would see most national staff move to a new outside non-Church body, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers. The Church has been plagued by safeguarding controversies over the years, with a damning report into serial abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth leading to the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. Ms Phillips said: 'Whilst I cannot tell the Synod what it has to do, I condemn the acts of psychological, emotional and physical abuse and sexual abuse against both adults and children, including where they occur in religious settings or contexts.' Ms Phillips recalled issues faced by the Houses of Parliament and how she and others fought to have an 'independent process to oversee issues of sexual abuse and violence within this institution'. She added: 'What I know of the years of working on the frontline with victims of both historical and current abuses – usually sexual abuse that I am talking about in this particular instance – is that victims will tell me that what happened to them was horrendous. 'What continued to happen to them because of failures of institutions to act is worse.' 'While some improvements have been made, there remain systemic underlying vulnerabilities arising from the church's structure of safeguarding. In her concluding remarks, Ms Phillips said: 'There should be no status that is protected from scrutiny and cultures of silence through wilful ignorance or, worse, malign intent to safeguard reputations above children must end. It must end wherever we see it. 'Lamenting and repenting is all well and good, but what my mum used to say to me is 'Sorry is just a word you say, changing your behaviour proves to me that you are sorry'. 'We owe a debt to the victims who come forward about any institutional abuse, we owe them more than lamenting and repenting, we owe them change.' Opening the debate, Labour MP Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) said the Church is 'marking its own homework' as he called for an independent body that would provide uniform safeguarding practices across the country. Mr Myer said: 'While some improvements have been made, there remain systemic underlying vulnerabilities arising from the church's structure of safeguarding. 'Survivors have told me that there are complex, hard to navigate structures and slow, institutionally defensive responses, and what emerged from around 2020 was a call for an independent structure to oversee safeguarding practices.' Mr Myer referred to a 2024 report by Professor Alexis Jay entitled the Future of Church Safeguarding in the Church of England. He said: 'Professor Jay's report said the only way in which safeguarding can be improved is by making it truly independent of the Church. 'The central problem is that the complexity of the Church means that rather than one approach, there are 42 different dioceses each with different safeguarding systems. 'Safeguarding practitioners have said that this limits effective safeguarding. As Professor Jay noted in her report, Church safeguarding service falls below the standards of consistency expected and set in secular organisations.' Mr Myer further stated: 'It is simply not acceptable that the experience of survivors should vary depending on where they live. There must be a system that is unified and consistent, evenly resourced with the same quality of support respecting the independent expertise of safeguarding professionals.' He concluded: 'The reality is that, as things stand, this patchwork of procedures remains and the Church remains, effectively marking its own homework. This is clearly not acceptable.' Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, the CoE's Commons representative in her role as Second Church Estates Commissioner, said 'there is still a long way to go'. She said: 'The Church must treat its work for independent safeguarding operations as a matter of urgency. 'We need no more blocking, we just need action, because action really will speak louder than any of the words than any of us have got to say here today.' Jonathan Davies, the Labour MP for Mid Derbyshire, said the church 'absolutely must get this issue right', warning that 'if it fails to do so, it will face an existential threat'.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Church vote on safeguarding ‘a punch in the gut for survivors'
A Church of England vote which delays fully independent safeguarding has been branded a 'punch in the gut' for victims of abuse. Representatives of survivors said the outcome was 'incredibly disappointing' and showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'. Victims had pleaded with the Church's parliament to endorse a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body. But the General Synod instead voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' and for 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence. The endorsed model (option three) would see most national staff move to a new outside non-Church body, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers, although no firm timeline has been given for work to begin on this. Synod voted 392 in favour, nine against and six abstained on the final motion. Former chairwoman of the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Professor Alexis Jay, who previously led a review into church safeguarding, said the vote had been a missed opportunity to improve safeguarding. After hours of debate at Church House on Tuesday, an amendment from Bishop of Blackburn Philip North was supported by a majority of Synod members. Proposing it, he told those gathered: 'Option four (the more independent model) is eye-wateringly complex and will take years to implement, assuming it is implementable. 'No organisation has done anything on this scale before and during those years, not enough will change when the Church and the nation are demanding change now.' He rejected the idea that it was a delay, saying 'the two processes can run concurrently, not consecutively so this amendment is about the very opposite of long grass'. He added: 'Whilst we implement three, we can establish a definitive view on whether option four is legally deliverable.' Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said Synod had voted 'almost unanimously for a far greater degree of independence in safeguarding, for independence of scrutiny, for a far-strengthened role for Dsaps (diocesan safeguarding advisory panels), to ask questions about how we address inconsistencies, to a stronger regional system, and about funding for safeguarding'. Asked for his response to victims' reaction, the bishop said: 'I think what I would really worry about is making promises to survivors, to the nation, to the Church, that we couldn't then deliver.' He said option four is 'still very much on the table' and will return to Synod 'in a form where we know that legally it can be implemented'. That option would have seen all safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church transferred to work for a new independent organisation. The Church has been plagued by safeguarding controversies over the years, with a damning report into serial abuser John Smyth leading to the resignation of Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury. His temporary stand-in, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has also faced calls to quit over failures in handling abuse cases, and admitted this week the Church has 'failed greatly' on safeguarding. Addressing Synod on Monday, he said he had 'long believed that greater independence is the missing piece in the safeguarding jigsaw'. Backing model four, he told those gathered how he had 'lived with the constraints of the inadequacies of our processes and their lack of scrutiny and I think I may know more than most how inadequate and unsatisfactory this is, for me, but it's not about me, it's for victims and survivors who have been an continue to be hurt by our church because of this'. The more independent model of safeguarding was also supported during the debate by Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally and Bishop of Leicester Martyn Snow, with the latter describing it as a 'cultural reset'. Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, who has been strongly critical of Church leaders including Mr Cottrell, said she had abstained in the final vote and felt 'really disappointed' by the outcome. She told Sky News: 'I'm afraid what this looks like is that we're just kicking the can down the road and we are failing our duty to victims and survivors. And I'm really desperately sorry and quite angry about that.' She said she felt there had been 'a certain amount of confusion and a bit of scaremongering I have to say among some of my colleagues about what would happen if we tried to go to complete independence'. Among concerns Mr North laid out to Synod were a claim that the data upon which model four was based is disputed, that the option could present 'nightmareish law', and that 'large numbers' of independent safeguarding professionals had said the option 'could make the church less safe'. Prof Jay told Times Radio: 'All of the events over several years have caused victims and survivors to become very disillusioned with the Church and this will do nothing to address the issue: the trust and confidence that needs to be restored. 'It's retaining control of safeguarding for whatever reasons, one of which could well be for the protection of reputation. 'The culture of the church facilitated it becoming a place where abusers could hide.' Abuse lawyer David Greenwood, who stood in solidarity with victims outside the venue ahead of the vote, said the result was 'incredibly disappointing'. He said: 'Many have worked hard on the attempt to bring full independence to the church safeguarding process. 'This vote represents a rejection of secular standards in safeguarding and will lead to children continuing to be at risk in the church.' Andrew Graystone, a longtime advocate for abuse survivors, said the vote showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'. He said: 'If you are abused by a vicar, you will still be expected to report it to a bishop. 'Safeguarding staff will still be located in church offices, employed by the very same bishop. 'The Church of England had an opportunity to start to rebuild trust, by admitting that it needed expertise from outside. 'But instead they have chosen to keep it in the family. 'Shocking arrogance, and a punch in the gut for victims and survivors of abuse.' Bishop Joanne Grenfell, the Church's safeguarding lead also expressed her regret, saying: 'I am disappointed that we have not done today, or we may not do today as much as we could've done today. 'We need radical change to both our culture and our structures.'
