Child Protection at St Columba's

The failure of the Church in the past to protect children and vulnerable adults from paedophiles has been a great source of scandal in the media and television and consequently among many believers. Many, including the victims themselves, have expressed their unhappiness at the past inactivity of the Church to ensure the protection of children and the vulnerable.

The Nolan Report, the response on the part of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to Child Protection, addressed this important issue in great detail, and the recommendations contained in the report were accepted in full by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and all of the bishops. Clear policies and procedures have now been laid down throughout the whole structure of the Church, every diocese in England and Wales.

Everyone within parishes will need to share the responsibility for child protection but each parish will have a Child Protection Representative who will ensure:

That diocesan policies and procedures are known and followed
That awareness is raised in the parish by having periodic child protection awareness evenings etc
That child protection concerns are directed to the statutory authorities and the Diocesan Child Protection Officer
That interviews of volunteers who will work with children are carried out as prescribed by Diocesan policy and that appropriate documentation is completed by all volunteers

That child protection principles are worked through into every day activities

Here at St Columba’s, considerable progress was made in preparing and implementing the Diocesan policies by Pauline McDonald, who sadly died last year. In addition to many other valuable services to the church Pauline was a leading light in the world of child protection and she will be sorely missed. I can assure you that she has left a fine legacy of robust procedures, which we will be following at St Columba’s in the future.

Posters, with the names and telephone numbers of our Parish Child Protection Representatives have been placed in the church porch and the hall. They are also printed below. If you ever have a query or concern please feel free to call us.

Noel Brownsell: 0208 660 8434

Deacon Philip: 0208 651 4653

Noel Brownsell

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