Bishop outlines new measures to combat child abuse in Irish church

Published: 2006-02-03

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- An Irish church leader has outlined new measures, including better consistency and alignment with state policy, to update guidelines for combating child abuse in church-run institutions. In a presentation to the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science, on behalf of the Irish Episcopal Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Missionary Union, Bishop Leo O'Reilly of Kilmore outlined the contents of "Our Children, Our Church," the church's recently published child protection policy. The committee is reviewing child protection measures in all state-run and state-funded institutions, including schools managed by the church, in the wake of the November publication of an independent report on how church and state authorities handled allegations of clerical sex abuse of children in the Ferns Diocese.

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