Tags: Catholic Church
Ireland's mother and baby homes scandal shows the necessity of separating church and state
Posted: Fri, 05 Feb 2021 by Keith Porteous Wood
The misery which women and children faced for decades highlights the damage that can be done when states leave religious authority unchecked, says NSS president Keith Porteous Wood. Read More »
The Catholic Church’s dogma shouldn’t undermine sex education
Posted: Wed, 16 Dec 2020 by Neil Barber
The local council in the Outer Hebrides has endorsed Catholic Church resources on sex and relationships – with some demanding they're used "exclusively". Neil Barber says this is a misguided decision. Read More »
Human rights should not be at the mercy of the pope’s pontifications
Posted: Wed, 28 Oct 2020 by Megan Manson
Amid widespread interest in the pope's views on same-sex civil unions, Megan Manson says states shouldn't allow themselves to be used to further the Catholic Church's agendas. Read More »
Cardinal Pell’s conviction has been overturned – but there are uncomfortable moments to come
Posted: Wed, 08 Apr 2020 by Keith Porteous Wood
Australia's top court has overturned the conviction of the Vatican's former treasurer for sexually assaulting two boys. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's plain sailing from here for him, says Keith Porteous Wood. Read More »
The Cardinal Barbarin case highlights the need for well-drafted mandatory reporting laws
Posted: Thu, 06 Feb 2020 by Keith Porteous Wood
The conviction of France's most senior Catholic cleric for failing to report child abuse has been overturned. Keith Porteous Wood says this should be a warning to those charged with responding to abuse in the UK. Read More »
The Catholic Church’s snub to the child abuse inquiry speaks volumes
Posted: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 by Stephen Evans
The Holy See's refusal to fully assist the UK's sexual abuse inquiry reveals unchangeable deficiencies within the church and highlights the need for a new mandatory reporting law, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
'By the Grace of God' shows the need to hold the Catholic Church accountable on child abuse
Posted: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 by Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood says a film highlighting the struggle to bring a senior Catholic cardinal to account for covering up child abuse is a sign that the Vatican's wall of silence cannot hold. Read More »
IICSA report is a damning indictment of Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse
Posted: Thu, 20 Jun 2019 by Richard Scorer
The latest Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse report scotches once and for all the idea that Catholic safeguarding has been transformed, says Richard Scorer. Read More »
What might Catholic schools teach about transgender and intersex people?
Posted: Fri, 14 Jun 2019 by Megan Manson
Megan Manson examines a new document outlining the Catholic Church's position on issues relating to sex and gender, and explains how this may lead to conflict in Catholic Schools. Read More »
Pope’s latest PR offering on clerical abuse should fool no one
Posted: Fri, 10 May 2019 by Keith Porteous Wood
By only obligating officials in the Roman Catholic Church to report cases of clerical abuse internally, the pope's latest decree on child abuse falls a long way short of what is necessary, argues Keith Porteous Wood. Read More »
IICSA's Ealing hearings showed the Catholic Church can't be trusted to police itself
Posted: Mon, 25 Feb 2019 by Keith Porteous Wood
An inquiry has highlighted the Catholic Church's lamentable failings over child abuse at an abbey and school in west London. Keith Porteous Wood says the episode has shown the need for mandatory reporting of abuse. Read More »
21 steps the pope would take if he was committed to tackling child abuse
Posted: Fri, 22 Feb 2019 by Keith Porteous Wood
As the Catholic Church unveils another inadequate plan to tackle child abuse, this open letter from Keith Porteous Wood highlights some steps the pope could take if he was committed to taking effective action. Read More »
Catholic abuse scandals: why self policing always fails
Posted: Mon, 04 Feb 2019 by Richard Scorer
The IICSA inquiry has turned its attention to child abuse at two Catholic schools. Abuse lawyer and NSS vice president Richard Scorer delivered the following opening statement on behalf of several victims. Read More »
The pope's empty words and meaningless gestures won't tackle clerical abuse
Posted: Mon, 07 Jan 2019 by Keith Porteous Wood
One of the pope's Christmas messages urged clerical abusers to hand themselves in. Keith Porteous Wood asks how effective it will be in bringing perpetrators to the courts and assesses the pope's progress over abuse. Read More »
Time to end criminality and cover-up in the Catholic Church
Posted: Mon, 12 Nov 2018 by Richard Scorer
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has turned its attention to abuse in the Catholic Church's archdiocese of Birmingham. Richard Scorer delivered the following opening statement on behalf of several victims.
I represent 29 victims of sexual abuse... Read More »
The Catholic Church’s record on abuse demands accountability, not more meaningless apologies
Posted: Fri, 24 Aug 2018 by Keith Porteous Wood
As the pope prepares to visit Ireland, NSS president Keith Porteous Wood says the international community must confront the Vatican over its shameful record on child abuse and demand action to bring secular justice.
Forty years ago, mass attendance per capita... Read More »
Child protection must come before the reputation of institutions like Ampleforth and Downside
Posted: Thu, 09 Aug 2018 by Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer says a damning report on two leading Catholic schools' approach to safeguarding is a reminder of the need for a law mandating the reporting of suspected child abuse to the secular authorities.
At the end of 2017 the Independent Inquiry into Child... Read More »
The seal of the confessional and child abuse: a religious privilege too far
Posted: Mon, 25 Jun 2018 by Richard Scorer
Some clerics want exemptions from reporting requirements on abuse when it's revealed in the confessional. Accommodating their demands would undermine efforts to tackle child abuse, says Richard Scorer.
The controversy over the seal of confessional in clerical... Read More »
Sturgeon’s praise for Catholic schools will exacerbate Scotland’s tribal divisions
Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 by Neil Barber
Catholic schools are no remedy for a society facing ingrained sectarian division, writes Neil Barber. In praising them Scotland's first minister has shown a willingness to sacrifice social cohesion to reach a block vote. Read More »
Only reform of the law can tackle the Church's temptation to cover up abuse
Posted: Fri, 15 Dec 2017 by Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer reflects on three weeks of damning evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. He says mandatory reporting of institutional abuse is necessary to prevent churches from covering it up to protect their reputation.
For the past... Read More »
Abuse Inquiry to investigate Benedictine institutions
Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2017 by Richard Scorer
An upcoming hearing of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will be an opportunity to examine the reality behind the Catholic Church's claims that it has transformed its approach to child protection, says Richard Scorer.
At the end of November, the... Read More »
The legacy of decades of abuse in a Catholic children's home
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 by Mark Boules
Hundreds of children died at Smyllum Park, a home in Lanarkshire run by the Catholic Church between 1864 and 1981. As an order of nuns considers selling the land, calls for a memorial are mounting. Mark Boules reflects on what is left after decades of abuse... Read More »
Cardinal Murphy O'Connor's cover-up of child abusers must be a lesson to the Catholic Church
Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster, died on 1 September. NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood seeks to set the historical record straight with this alternative obituary. This piece was originally published on Conatus News. It... Read More »
Ireland’s hospitals: some welcome secularisation
Posted: Fri, 01 Sep 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood detects a long-overdue and decisive turn towards secularism in publicly funded healthcare in Ireland, an area in which the Catholic Church has until now been predominant.
The Catholic Church in Ireland has, until recently,... Read More »
The confessional shouldn’t shield child abuse from reporting
Posted: Wed, 16 Aug 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
The Australian abuse commission is right not to exempt the confessional from reporting obligations, and its rigour should provide a model to reverse the backsliding already all too clear in the UK, argues Keith Porteous Wood.
Should priests be legally bound... Read More »
