Former moderator to examine Church’s handling of abuse

The man chosen to lead an external inquiry into how the Catholic Church in Scotland handles sexual abuse says he has been given a free hand to review child protection in order to guarantee that lapses that led to abuse in the past could not be repeated. 

The Church in Scotland has been under pressure to commission an outside inquiry into its safeguarding procedures following a BBC documentary showing evidence of physical and sexual abuse carried out at the Benedictine-run Fort Augustus School and its prep school, and the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him by five men, four of them priests. Those allegations did not involve minors. 

On Sunday, the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland announced the review by Dr Andrew McLellan, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, as part of a three-pronged initiative to confront issues of clerical abuse.

This also includes the publishing on the bishops’ website of a breakdown of abuse allegations made against dioceses between 2006 and 2012, against Religious between 2009 and 2012 and a statistical review of all historical cases of abuse from 1947 to 2005.

Dr Andrew McLellan told The Tablet he was “astonished” to have been approached, but that his priority is to “seek the best protection of many vulnerable children and adults”. Though he has no specific previous history in implementation of safeguarding procedures and protocols, Dr McLellan is a highly regarded former chief inspector of prisons in Scotland and he has appointed to his panel Ranald Mair, who has been convenor of safeguarding in the Church of Scotland.

Dr McLellan said that he was unlikely to announce any further appointments until after Christmas. He also declined to set a timetable for his report although some predict it will take a year to complete. He said: “They [the Church] have set me free to do as I think fit and to look at whatever I feel needs to be examined.” Dr McLellan stressed his remit did not cover historic cases of abuse in the Church, some of which are now in police hands, but to review present-day protocols and implementation and to prevent repetition of the “awful” lapses of the past.

The data published from 2006 to 2012 revealed 46 abuse allegations were made against dioceses, some of which are historical. More than half of the allegations were made against priests, while 22 per cent were claims against volunteers.

The report found that 25 of the allegations concerned sexual abuse, with the rest physical, verbal or emotional abuse. The Church has since confirmed that 15 priests were accused of sexual abuse. The audit also revealed the outcome of the 46 allegations and found that 15 per cent of the reported cases resulted in a prosecution while 10 per cent are still under investigation.

Figures were compiled separately for Religious with 18 allegations made against communities between 2009 and 2012. Apart from one lay employee, all those accused were Religious brothers, sisters or priests. Just under half of the allegations were sexual. 

The three-pronged initiative was announced in a letter read out at all Masses in Scottish parishes last weekend and signed by Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland; the vice president of the conference and Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, Joseph Toal; and episcopal secretary, the Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh Gilbert.

The letter stated: “We recognise the trauma and pain that survivors of abuse have suffered and we are committed to providing for them both justice and healing,” adding the way to do this was through “complete transparency.” 

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Leo Cushley, has said he believes the Vatican will pursue no further action against Cardinal O’Brien. The cardinal was ordered to undertake a period of prayer and penance by the Holy See away from Scotland in May. Archbishop Cushley added, however, that he did not believe the cardinal would return to Scotland.