Scottish Catholic Observer

As the Year of Faith concludes, and St Andrew’s Day and Advent approach, it may be difficult to read as good news Scotland’s bishops’ pastoral letter to parishes announcing three steps forward in tackling historic weaknesses in our Church’s safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. After all, no one wants to hear that this is, or has been, a problem within the Church infrastructure, be it in religious orders or among diocesan clergy. But the comparatively recent cases that have now been revealed, and details of the older cases that are to be made public, prove one thing—transparency is key and the only way forward. The Catholic focus on the past, present and future regarding this issue has to be for the good of those affected, the victims, and not that of the Church. We have grown up as a society, learning hard lessons from our mistakes over the welfare of children, and we must face those lessons as a Church.

Transparency differs, however, from a witch-hunt aimed to destroy the Church, overlooking all the good work that has been done and is being done by the majority of clergy and lay Catholics. Also, safeguarding is a sensitive issue in our society as a whole, as abuse has been, and what is kept private and confidential at the behest of complainants does not signify covert secrecy or back peddling by the Church.

An independent inquiry may seem overdue in the opinion of some people, but rather it be done properly than merely done quickly, with the Church just being seen to be doing the right thing as opposed to actually doing it.

These new steps outlined by Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, are being taken not because the hand of the Church has been forced, more likely that it has been freed. The secular media that we are so often at odds with played a hand in that, regardless of its own agenda.

Catholics are deeply saddened by any cases of abuse that occurred within our Church, just as wider society is ashamed of mistakes it made regarding children in the past. The Church’s recent announcement is not aimed at moving past the issue, it is designed to make sure we all learn from these mistakes.

We keep the Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan, CBE, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (above), who is tasked with the inquiry in our thoughts and prayers, as we do everyone whose live has been impacted by abuse of any kind.

We also pray for all clergy and religious whose lives and work have been made all the more difficult but the shadows of doubt abuse has cast over those with their specific and demanding vocation.