Child Abuse and Priests

BC-Catholic Abuse,0536

The report said the church should set up a national child protection unit, 
and that every parish should have a designated child protection 
representative. It said bishops and religious superiors should not overrule 
selections boards where there are questions about a candidate's suitability. 

"We believe that the Catholic Church in England and Wales should become an 
example of best practice in the prevention of child abuse and in responding 
to it," Nolan told a news conference to launch the report. 

"We are confident that the huge majority of church members strongly 
support this objective and we have been impressed by the work many are 
already doing to bring it about." 

In a BBC television interview before the report's release, Archbishop 
Vincent Nichols of Birmingham said the church needed to "start right at the 
beginning and be very careful as to how well we take a very close, and 
increasingly professional look, at all those who apply to be priests in the 
Catholic Church." 

Nichols said the church has learned a great deal in recent decades. "I 
think 20 years ago it was just a puzzle, it was such a shock and such a 
surprise," Nichols said. "It was very much a hidden phenomenon and a hidden 
crime. But I think nowadays these things are much more understood. We 
obviously have been on a steep learning curve along with the rest of 
society." 

The church in England and Wales published its first report on child abuse 
in 1994, emphasizing that the church should work closely with child 
protection teams, government authorities and other professionals. 

The Nolan report was commissioned last year. 

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, was caught 
up in controversy last summer over his decision to assign a priest to the 
Gatwick airport chapel despite concerns about the priest's behavior. 

The priest was subsequently convicted in nine sex attacks, including one 
with a boy he met at the chapel, and he served 42 months in prison. 
Murphy-O'Connor said the independent report was "extremely constructive 
and helpful" and would form a major item for discussion by all the bishops of 
England and Wales at their meeting next week. 

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) 
APTV 04-17-01 0931EDT