Church 'must do more to stop abuse'

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A "great deal" has been achieved in a "remarkably short time" since the publication of the Nolan report aimed at improving child protection within the church, the Cumberlege Commission has said.

But the commission warned the church risked a "serious reversal" of some of the gains it had made in tackling child abuse if it failed to deal with tensions within its own ranks over the issue.

"Five years on and the church can quite rightly take pride in the progress it has made and in beginning to distance itself from negative public perceptions," the report said.

"But the task is far from done and if the tensions that have come to the fore in this review are left unaddressed by those in the church with the authority to deliver, we believe they risk a serious reversal of some of the important gains made to date."

The independent commission, set up last year to review the progress of the church since the 2001 Nolan report, said the church has addressed either "completely" or "partially" 79 of the 83 recommendations made by Lord Nolan, the Catholic former Law Lord who died in January.

The commission said 55,000 Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosures have been completed on clergy and lay people in contact with children and vulnerable adults between the beginning of 2003 and the end of 2006.

More than 85% of the 2,400 Catholic parishes in England and Wales had local child protection representatives in post at the end of 2006, it added.

But the report highlighted problems within the church. These include a "strong and vocal" lobby of priests who believe that the system for dealing with allegations against them leaves them "exposed" and "vulnerable" and is a breach of Canon Law and natural justice.

There is also the view held by some in the church that child protection policies and procedures are "too long, overly bureaucratic and impenetrable" and lacking in theological and spiritual context, plus a "patchy" will to drive through the "safeguarding" agenda amongst bishops and religious congregational leaders, the report suggests.