Tags: Child Abuse
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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 »
How secularism protects people who have religious faith
Posted: Wed, 14 Nov 2018 by Megan Manson
For Interfaith Week 2018, campaigns officer Megan Manson explains how the National Secular Society's work protects those who are religious as well as those who are not.
One of the most common misconceptions about the National Secular Society is that we are... 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 »
Religious power and privilege failed the victims in the Peter Ball affair
Posted: Sat, 11 Aug 2018 by Keith Porteous Wood
In this long read NSS president Keith Porteous Wood explains how all arms of the law co-operated to protect the now former bishop Peter Ball for decades and refutes claims that "it couldn't happen now".
Peter Ball started misusing his religious power to sexually... 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 »
Anglicanism's 'purple circle' of bishops cannot be trusted over child abuse
Posted: Sat, 28 Jul 2018 by Keith Porteous Wood
NSS president Keith Porteous Wood reflects on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's hearings into the case of the abusive bishop Peter Ball.
Under the guise of schemes with names such as "Give a Year to God", former Church of England bishop Peter... Read More »
The Church of England provided the perfect cover for Peter Ball’s offending
Posted: Mon, 23 Jul 2018 by Richard Scorer
Opening statement by lawyer Richard Scorer of Slater and Gordon, also an NSS vice president, at the IICSA inquiry's hearings into the case of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Gloucester.
Chair and members of the panel: Mr O'Donnell and I represent five survivors... 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 »
Bishops must be accountable – and not just to themselves
Posted: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 by Richard Scorer
Abridged version of the winding-up speech by lawyer Richard Scorer of Slater and Gordon, also an NSS vice president, at the IICSA inquiry's hearings into the handling of child sexual abuse in the diocese of Chichester.
This has been the first opportunity for... Read More »
Church dysfunctionality laid bare by child sexual abuse inquiry
Posted: Sun, 11 Mar 2018 by Keith Porteous Wood
As the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse turns its attention to the Church of England, Keith Porteous Wood says it must act on evidence which has highlighted the desperate need to hold the C of E to account.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual... Read More »
The C of E cannot be trusted to deal with safeguarding complaints in house
Posted: Mon, 05 Mar 2018 by Richard Scorer
On the first day of hearings into child sexual abuse in the Church of England, NSS vice-president Richard Scorer told an inquiry that protecting children requires independent oversight and mandatory reporting.
Earlier today I addressed the Independent Inquiry... 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 »
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 »
Newcastle: what's faith got to do with it?
Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 by Yasmin Rehman
A group of mainly Muslim men has been convicted for sexual abuse in another British city. Amid a predictable response, Yasmin Rehman says child protection does not require the involvement of faith groups or 'community leaders'.
Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford,... Read More »
Church of England’s links with insurer undermines justice for survivors of clergy abuse
Posted: Wed, 26 Jul 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
Anglican abuse victims believe the Church's close links with its insurer results in lower settlements to victims. NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood thinks they've got a point, and offers solutions to put things right.
An insurance company connected... Read More »
The Church can’t be allowed to carry on marking its own homework
Posted: Sun, 25 Jun 2017 by Richard Scorer
The Church concealed evidence of criminality and colluded to protect an abusive bishop. Only external oversight will guarantee that church safeguarding practices comply with secular standards, argues Richard Scorer.
With the publication of the Gibb report the... Read More »
The Catholic Church’s abuse scandal shows no sign of abating
Posted: Mon, 15 May 2017 by Richard Scorer
After forty years the Catholic Church is still more interested in protecting itself and its clerical culture than in truly eradicating child abuse, writes Richard Scorer.
"Organisational culture is a powerful force that guides decisions and actions. Leaders... Read More »
Who is running Ireland – the Government or the Church?
Posted: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
The reach and power of the Catholic Church has waned considerably in recent years in Ireland. But there are troubling signs that its undue influence over the country is returning, writes Keith Porteous Wood.
It is difficult to envisage now, but when the UK... Read More »
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