The Catholic Church's Our Children Our Church child protection policy, published last December, has not been implemented in the North as it does not comply with the law there.
A spokeswoman for the department of health, social services and public safety in the North told The Irish Times yesterday "The church chose to withhold it [ Our Children Our Church policy] as it does not take account fully of NI legislation."
"We are working with the church to produce guidance that is in line with best practice and is compliant with NI legislation. We anticipate that this will be available within the forthcoming months."
Yesterday it was announced that nine Catholic bishops had put their names forward for vetting in the North, in response to the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (POCVA) order there. It was also disclosed that, since 1965, 81 priests have faced allegations of child sex abuse in the North's Catholic parishes. Some 47 were diocesan priests, while the remaining 34 were in religious congregations.
The figures, and the announcement that bishops were to subject themselves to vetting, were in a statement by Catholic primate Archbishop Seán Brady and the Northern bishops yesterday. The POCVA order came into force in the North last April and under its terms a wide range of church personnel, including volunteers, will have to submit themselves for POCVA clearance where work with children is concerned. No such legislation exists in the Republic.
The bishops concerned include Archbishop Brady; Bishop Patrick Walsh of Down & Connor; Bishop Séamus Hegarty of Derry; Bishop Joseph Duffy of the cross-Border diocese of Clogher; Bishop John McAreavey of Dromore; bishops Anthony Farquhar and Donal McKeown, auxiliary bishops in Down & Connor; Bishop Francis Lagan, auxiliary Bishop of Derry; and Bishop Gerard Clifford, auxiliary bishop of Armagh.
"By putting their own records forward for scrutiny the bishops are taking a lead in child protection and they want to encourage priests and those who work with children and young people to also apply for POCVA vetting," a spokeswoman for the Irish Episcopal Conference said yesterday.
Speaking from Maynooth, where the Irish Bishops' Conference is holding its March meeting, Archbishop Brady said: "We have also decided to voluntarily offer our own names as bishops for vetting as part of our commitment to ensuring best practice.