Safeguarding with Confidence - Cumberlege Report

The dignity of those who have been abused

5.1 Jesus showed a special tenderness and concern for the downtrodden of the world. This attitude may have seemed revolutionary to his followers, but it reminds us of the teaching of the Old Testament, that God is the defender of those who are poor and oppressed, those who have no other defenders here on earth. Those who embrace the call to follow Christ must therefore recognise that the vocation given to them by their Baptism includes respect for the poor, and defence of the downtrodden. The Church’s approach to caring for those who have been abused should be formed by the teachings of Jesus.

5.2 The Catholic Church, as a community of Christian believers, is called to be a community that protects the weak in its midst as well as the weak in the world outside. Many of its members serve the weak through education, health-care, as well as many more specialised ministries. Since the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has recognised a duty to give special care to those who suffer discrimination, disadvantage and poverty, and more recently it has become aware that the protection of children and vulnerable adults is an integral part of this “option for the poor”.

5.3 Those children and vulnerable adults who have been abused in any way need to be, and know that they are, a special concern for the Catholic Church. It is to the Church that they should be able to turn for a safe haven. If they cannot, if any Christian community is found to be, as an institution, incapable of ensuring the safety of children and vulnerable adults in its midst it must be a scandal. And that scandal is immeasurably greater if those who abuse children or vulnerable adults are people - lay, clerical, religious or secular - who are acting in the name of the Church. Those involved in the safeguarding ministry are in the front line in providing care for those who have been abused within the Church.

Recommendation 52
Those with pastoral responsibility should be ready to listen to those who have suffered abuse, and to learn from them because they have much to teach the Church. Bishops, Congregational Leaders, priests and religious must take a lead in ensuring that the Church is a safe place for vulnerable people and in showing pastoral concern for all who have suffered abuse. This duty is particularly pressing when the abuse has taken place within the family of the Church.

The support and care of those who report abuse

5.4 Abuse is a great evil, and its effects on those who have been abused are profound and long-lasting. What is less well recognised is that the evil affects so many and its reverberations are widespread. In the case of sexual abuse in particular, it is not only the immediate victim who is affected, but the victim’s family who will feel the hurt and pain of their loved one. The abuser will be degraded as a human being and as a moral agent by the behaviour he or she has engaged in. The abuser’s family and friends will feel a sense of hurt and betrayal.

5.5 Lord Nolan’s report rightly highlighted the particular scandal of abuse being perpetrated within the family of the Church, above all when the perpetrator is a minister acting in the name of the Church. The social and structural complexity of the Catholic Church has in the past tended to impede an efficient response to allegations of abuse; and the degree to which the Church is itself hurt when abuse is alleged against one of its own has all too easily led to poor responses when allegations are made. When the abuser’s family (in the broad sense) is the Church, whether a parish, a diocese or a religious family, the response to allegations of abuse are likely to be influenced first and foremost by the shock, sadness and sorrow that this family is going through. Bishops and Congregational Leaders are not immune from such feelings.

5.6 The person who has been abused will often see the Catholic Church as a monolithic institution and expect it to respond accordingly. The truth is very different as we explain elsewhere. The Church’s own law makes clear that there exists both the physical person and also “juridical persons”, each of which has its own structures and obligations. Examples of “juridical persons” are dioceses, parishes, religious congregations and independent religious houses, not to mention national and local voluntary organisations. They are not in law or in practice answerable for each other’s mistakes or liable for each other’s debts.

5.7 On the other hand, those who come into contact with the Church for whatever reason and certainly those who put their trust in the Church need to be conscious of the solidarity that unites them. In particular that all share the pastoral concern for the abused. We believe that it is important that when a person alleges abuse, he or she does not simply receive the reply that “it’s not our problem”. Even though it may not be the responsibility of the person or institution that hears the allegation, that is not the message the person making the allegation wants to hear. He or she needs to be helped to find the way through the rather bewildering institutional structures, and brought to the diocese, religious congregation or other institution that is legally or morally responsible.

5.8 We wish to emphasise that when an allegation is made and the matter is in the hands of the team responsible for safeguarding in the diocese, religious congregation or other institution in question, the primary function of that team is not to protect the Church; it must be, and must be seen to be, the protection of vulnerable people, whether it is the person making the allegation or others who may be at risk.

Recommendation 53
The Church should encourage those who have been abused by someone working in the name of the Church to come forward and disclose the abuse.

Recommendation 54
All churches and other institutions run by the Church should have notices giving the names, photographs and contact details of those who may be contacted by anyone who has a concern about the abuse of children and vulnerable adults. These details should also be put on websites that children and the vulnerable are likely to visit. There should be at least two names given: one of a person who is near at hand, one of a person who is not directly connected with the church or institution in question. The telephone number of “Childline” should also be given and made clearly visible for children to see.

Recommendation 55
If a complaint or allegation is made to a member of a team responsible for safeguarding who believes that he or she is not competent to deal with the matter, either because
the alleged perpetrator is not a member of the diocese/congregation for which that office is responsible, or because the alleged victim does not come under the heading of “children” or “vulnerable adult”, the person making the complaint must nevertheless be received with care and the concern must be heard and recorded. The officer concerned should offer to pass the matter on to the person who is competent to deal with it and the complainant should be told to whom the information is being passed. If there is uncertainty about who is competent to deal with the matter, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service may be asked for their advice.

5.9 Inevitably, some allegations of abuse will take a long time to deal with, particularly complex issues involving more than one diocese or religious congregation. Nevertheless, it is important, and helpful not only to those making allegations but also to those receiving them, that the policies should indicate how soon the victim/complainant should expect to receive a response.

Recommendation 56
The national policies for responding to allegations of abuse should indicate the timescale within which appropriate action should normally be taken, and to whom the matter should be referred if a satisfactory response is not received.

5.10 If the matter has to be referred to the police or the social services the process of investigation and the time taken for enquiries to be completed are no longer under the
control of the Church’s local safeguarding service. But even then it is important that those responsible for managing allegations of abuse do not give misleading advice about the length of time the investigation is likely to take.

5.11 Allegations of abuse that need to be referred to the statutory authorities will often take longer to investigate and resolve than all of us would wish. Both alleged perpetrators and victims feel hurt and injured by these delays. It is important that this is recognised by the Church’s representatives and that they do not encourage unrealistic expectations of a speedy resolution.

5.12 Lord Nolan stressed the importance of the Church providing a “support person” for those who come forward to allege abuse, as well as for those against whom allegations are made. We believe that it is important to add some further recommendations about the “support person”.

Recommendation 57
Particular attention should be given to the role of an appropriate “support person”, recommended by the Nolan report (recommendations 71-74). It should be made clear to the person who is being supported that:

(a) Any disclosure of harm, or danger of harm, to a child or vulnerable adult must be reported to the appropriate authorities;

(b) In other cases, information and opinions voluntarily given to the “support person” may only be passed on to the local Commission, or other bodies, with the express consent of the person being supported;

(c) Any statement required for legal or safeguarding purposes should be taken by someone from the appropriate investigating agency not from the “support person”.

5.13 The “support person” will normally be arranged by the diocese or congregation that would be responsible for the alleged abuse if it is found to have taken place.

Recommendation 58
The person receiving support may request that the “support person” should not be a member of the clergy of that diocese or of the congregation in question, and wherever it is possible the diocese or congregation should respect that request.

Recommendation 59
The CSAS should ensure the co-ordination of support for victims where the alleged abuse covers several dioceses and religious congregations.

5.14 A subsequent, but no less important concern of the diocese or religious congregation must be to seek to restore in some way the dignity, self-respect, physical or psychological well-being of those making the allegations, when it is found that there is substance behind the allegations. Different people have different wants and needs, and these must be acknowledged.

“The real needs of victims should be recognised and responded to. They may be seeking a safe space to speak of their experience, validation and vindication, answers to their questions, genuine truth-telling, empowerment, restitution or reparation, and hope of a better future”33

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