Church sets up new service for victims

The Archdiocese of Dublin is to set up a new support system for victims of clerical sex abuse, after it emerged it was in breach of the church's own guidelines by not offering such a service.

In a separate development, the director of the church's Child Protection Office, Mr Paul Bailey, has disputed claims that only five of the Republic's 26 dioceses had appointed "support persons", as required by the bishops' guidelines on dealing with abuse.

Mr Bailey said 19 of the 26 dioceses had made such appointments, but in most cases the service has not been availed of by victims.

The Dublin archdiocese has moved to re-establish its support network amid suggestions that the original system was either inadequate or non-existent.

In 1996, it appointed four people to work as "support persons" for victims - advising and helping them access information - in keeping with the bishops' guidelines. However the service was largely ignored by those making allegations and, according to abuse victim Ms Marie Collins, had not even been offered for some years.

After she and fellow campaigner Mr Ken Reilly sought a meeting with Cardinal Desmond Connell last week, however, the cardinal ordered a new and improved service to be put in place.

In a short statement yesterday, the archdiocese said it was working on this instruction and would give details of the service as soon as possible.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland yesterday, Mr Bailey said there had been a "failure" in Dublin and this was now being rectified. However he added that Cardinal Connell had believed the guidelines were being implemented in full.

A Dublin diocesan source has conceded that the support service was "not heavily sold" and many victims would not have understood what was being offered. The system was now seen to have been "severely inadequate".

Neither Ms Collins nor Mr Reilly were offered the service and only after Ms Collins made a series of inquiries did the archdiocese appoint someone - a curate from her parish who had already been advising her informally.

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, she said a separate provision of the guidelines - under which a priest subject to abuse allegations is given an "adviser" - was working fully. She added: "If victims choose not to use the support person system, that's one thing, but they should have the choice and they haven't had it in Dublin."