An independent review of child protection procedures within the Catholic Church in England and Wales yesterday recommended police checks on clergy and all volunteers who come into contact with children.
In the first report of the Review on Child Protection, an independent committee chaired by the former judge, Lord Nolan, who investigated standards in public life for parliament, said its aim was to encourage a "culture of vigilance" within the Catholic Church.
"Child abuse is a great evil," the report said. "It is particularly abhorrent when a child or young person is abused by someone in a position of trust and responsibility. It is most abhorrent when that position of trust is held by a member of the clergy or a lay church worker."
Among 50 recommendations in the report designed to prevent child abuse and improve the church's response to allegations, Lord Nolan suggested that job applicants should be asked to disclose details of criminal offences against children. He also recommended a national database of information on all applicants for the priesthood and said anyone cautioned or convicted of offences against children should not hold a position that could put children at risk. The report will be discussed at the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales next week. Operating within the constraints of a lay committee, which does not have the power to change canon law, the report suggested clergy should be laicised in the "most serious cases" of abuse, recognising that in some circumstances the church can decide to retain a priest but minimise contact with children.
The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, ordered the review last year following accusations that church authorities tried to cover up abuse by Michael Hill, a priest who was given a fiveyear sentence in 1997 for the abuse of several young boys.
Revelations that Hill was removed from his parish following allegations of abuse, but the cardinal, then Bishop of Arundel, allowed him to continue his ministry elsewhere, has damaged the church.
Responding to Lord Nolan's review, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said the church was committed to providing "the safest of places for children" and he described the review as "extremely constructive and helpful".
Ms Michele Elliot, director of the children's charity, Kidscape, welcomed the recommendation to treat historical allegations of abuse as if they were fresh cases. "I am particularly pleased they are going to reopen all cases of allegations in the past," she said. The first Report of the Independent Review on Child Protection in the Catholic Church in England and Wales can be read at:
www.nolanreview.org.uk