Tags: Child Abuse
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 »
Religious fundamentalists can’t be trusted with child protection
Posted: Mon, 28 Sep 2020 by Richard Scorer
The extraordinary antics of Jehovah's Witnesses at the public inquiry on child sexual abuse show why independent oversight of religious organisations is needed to protect children from abuse, says Richard Scorer. Read More »
The state must act to protect children in unregistered faith schools
Posted: Thu, 28 May 2020 by Richard Scorer
Eye-opening evidence at a public inquiry has shown the dangers presented by unregistered schools. Richard Scorer, a lawyer at the inquiry, says the authorities mustn't leave children to languish in unsafe environments. 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 »
Let’s disestablish the church that covered up sexual abuse
Posted: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 by Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood says the shocking failings highlighted by the BBC documentary The Church's Darkest Secret show the need to separate church and state. 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 »
Protecting children means challenging religious privilege
Posted: Fri, 07 Jun 2019 by Chris Sloggett
A report on child abuse in religious settings should prompt us to reconsider our relationship with religious institutions and their constitutional privileges and our wider attitude towards religion, says Chris Sloggett. 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 »
The C of E can’t be allowed to keep shielding abusers from accountability
Posted: Thu, 09 May 2019 by Richard Scorer
A damning report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has highlighted the need for independent oversight of the Church of England's safeguarding procedures and a mandatory reporting law, says Richard Scorer. 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 »
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 »
