Tags: Child Abuse
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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. 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. 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. 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. 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
After three weeks of damning evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Richard Scorer says mandatory reporting of institutional abuse is necessary to prevent churches from covering it up. 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. 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. Mark Boules reflects on what is left after decades of abuse at the home. 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. 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. 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'. 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. 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. 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. 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 »
Mass grave full of children's remains at Catholic home reveals atrocities on a massive scale
Posted: Tue, 07 Mar 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
With the latest revelations about human remains in an Irish Mother and Baby home, Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, seeks answers about how such atrocities could have happened on such a scale, and what can be done now.... Read More »
Religious privilege undermines abuse victims’ access to justice
Posted: Mon, 22 Aug 2016 by Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer, a specialist child abuse lawyer at Slater & Gordon draws attention to organisations seeking more lenient treatment over child abuse-connected matters because they are religious and makes the case for no concessions being given. Read More »
Church documents expose an even bigger cover-up than suspected in the Peter Ball case
Posted: Tue, 19 Jul 2016 by Richard Scorer
The recent release of more internal Church of England documents relating to the Peter Ball case exposes an even bigger cover-up than previously suspected, writes specialist abuse lawyer Richard Scorer. Read More »
Religious belief is no barrier to criminality
Posted: Thu, 09 Jun 2016 by Alistair McBay
A spate of media reports have suggested that criminals convicted of sex abuse feigned their religion. NSS Vice-President Alistair McBay argues that the media shouldn't seek to protect religion from criticism by misrepresenting these cases.
A disturbing new... Read More »
Bishop Ball case: Questions for Lord Carey
Posted: Mon, 11 Jan 2016 by Richard Scorer
With the release of some of the letters written in support of Bishop Ball during the 1992-1993 police investigation, we're starting to see more clearly how he was protected, writes legal specialist on child abuse Richard Scorer. Read More »
Damning details emerge about establishment cover-up of Anglican sex abuse
Posted: Mon, 04 Jan 2016 by Keith Porteous Wood
New revelations about the extent of the letter-writing campaign to help disgraced bishop Peter Ball escape charges raise urgent questions about the extent of the establishment cover-up, writes Keith Porteous Wood.
Former Bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball was... Read More »
Peter Ball sex abuse case: 20 questions that must be answered
Posted: Wed, 07 Oct 2015 by Keith Porteous Wood
Any genuine inquiry into the handling of allegations of child sex abuse by Bishop Peter Ball must answer key questions about alleged cover-ups by the Church, police and CPS, argues Keith Porteous Wood
The National Secular Society has been closely monitoring... Read More »
Catholic hierarchy stand by while nuns’ orders seek to obstruct justice for their abuse victims
Posted: Mon, 06 Jul 2015 by Keith Porteous Wood
Following the failed attempt to obstruct the historic child abuse inquiry in Scotland, Keith Porteous Wood exposes the continuing reluctance of the Catholic Church to face up to and pay for its crimes.
Two orders of nuns have sought and failed to frustrate... Read More »
Why did the CPS abandon investigation into Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor?
Posted: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 by Alistair McBay
As the full scale of the British Establishment's cover-up of child sex abuse becomes apparent, Alistair McBay argues it is time for the Crown Prosecution Service to make public its reasons for dropping the investigation into Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor 12 years ago. Read More »
Religion “mustn't cause violence”
Posted: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 by Alistair McBay
Both media commentators and politicians seem keen to claim religion as a cause for good deeds but determined not to acknowledge it as a contributing factor to bad ones, argues Alistair McBay. Read More »
Pope’s zero tolerance pledge on child abuse is not enough
Posted: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 by David McClenaghan
Words are not enough: David McClenaghan argues that if the Church wants to deal with its record on child abuse it must root out both offenders and enablers. Read More »
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