budget for the pastoral care they want to implement.” But Mr Kilgallon maintains that the com- mission’s meeting with survivors’ groups last July went well. While talks would continue, it is too early to say what form a church pas- toral plan might take. Survivors complain that the Church is reluc- tant to offer them support if the perpetrator has not been convicted or if they have not successfully sued for compensation in the civil courts. Bishops, they say, heed legal advice never to accept liability if they can avoid doing so. Mr Kilgallon accepts that this area poses one of the biggest challenges to supporting victims but it is one that applies to organisa- tions across the board. “We are on a journey and trying to get
better arrangements in the future. There is goodwill on all sides but there are serious issues, not least legal and insurance compli- cations that are not easily resolved,” said Mr Kilgallon. Two members of Snap attended a joint press conference with Macsas in north London on 11 September. This week they were also cam- paigning in Belgium and Ireland but were planning to be back in London for the Pope’s visit. Dr Kennedy said the visit has provided an opportunity for survivors’ groups to join forces, though she conceded that Snap’s strat- egy is different to that of Macsas. “Snap would say there is no point in talking to the Church. We have been trying but I am critical of the Church because they are not put- ting anything on the table,” said Dr Kennedy. One of Snap’s demands includes the setting up of a worldwide database of priests convicted of abuse where their identity and whereabouts could be accessed by the public. Bill Kilgallon believes this would be fraught with difficulties and is sceptical that it would serve any useful purpose.
believes that the highlighting of clerical abuse has become a “displacement activity” for the prevalence of abuse in society as a whole. He recalls that when he was a housemaster at Worth School, children were being encouraged to report abuse and the scale of the response was shocking. “At that time, Childline started and they had 60,000 calls on the first day. This is a very problematical issue for the whole of society, not just the Church. It remains an issue for our country but we are seeing a shift- ing of the blame on the Catholic Church,” said Fr Jamison, who feels the way forward is for the Church now to look at how best it can support survivors. Fr Jamison believes that the ideas outlined in the Macsas document have merit and may show the way forward, saying: ”The Church has set a benchmark for the whole of society in the protection of children. Now it has the opportunity to set a benchmark for supporting survivors.”
B (See Michael Short, pages 4-5.)
oth Mr Kilgallon and Fr Jamison talk about the prevalence of child abuse in society. While wary of appearing defensive, Fr Jamison
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18 September 2010 | THE TABLET | 19
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