At the Spring General Meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which concluded last week in Maynooth, bishops met with representatives from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland and reaffirmed their commitment to child safeguarding.
Bishops welcomed Mr John Morgan and Ms Teresa Devlin, the chair and CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland to the meeting to discuss the ongoing work of the national board.
In their statement following the general meeting, bishops said, ‘Irrespective of improved standards, vigilance and greater awareness, bishops agreed that the Church can never become complacent concerning the safeguarding of children.’
‘Bishops reflected on the immense suffering caused to children and vulnerable persons by abuse. They emphasised the shared responsibilities of Church and statutory authorities for prompt reporting, robust risk assessment, concrete action to prevent further abuse, and meaningful outreach to victims in support of the healing process and to assist their search for justice.
‘Bishops reiterated their commitment to both the review process of dioceses undertaken by the National Board and their full cooperation with any inquiry required by statutory bodies.’
For more information on the work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, please see www.safeguarding.ie.
The full text of the Bishops’ Conference statement following the Spring General Meeting, which also addressed prayer for the protection of life from the moment of conception until natural death; updates on preparations for the World Meeting of Families 2018; Trócaire’s 2018 Lenten Campaign on humanitarian crises around the world; Saint Patrick’s Day, Saturday 17 March; Lent and preparation for Easter, can be found on www.catholicbishops.ie.
ENDS
