THE NORTH:THE PSNI is to set up a specialist team to investigate clerical abuse of children, a move that has been welcomed by the Catholic Church.
Asst Chief Constable Will Kerr told a session of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI, that the unit would be established under a senior detective who would report to him. It will also liaise with the North’s Department of Health.
Mr Kerr said the move was in response to the numbers of recent allegations made.
The PSNI supports the establishment of a state inquiry into child sex abuse, a move called for by the main Assembly parties last November and demanded by survivors of abuse.
Bishop of Down and Connor Dr Noel Treanor said he supported the move and confirmed he and other senior colleagues had held talks with the assistant chief constable prior to the announcement made at the policing board.
“I welcome this development because in this matter of sexual abuse, be it of children, of minors or of vulnerable persons, the only way in which this plight – both in church and in society – can be addressed is by inter-agency co-operation,” he said.
He said the decision would “help all of us in church and in society to promote the public good and to foster the safety of children and vulnerable persons.”
Church agencies in Down and Connor would continue to hand over to police investigators any relevant documentation “without reserve”. He said some of the most recent abuse allegations are some 15 years old and that the caseload of abuse is entirely “historic”.
Mr Kerr told the policing board: “Our responsibility is reasonably straightforward, but is two-fold. One is the investigation of offences reported, but we have to prioritise against current and future risks.”
He added: “If you look at the out-workings of the Ryan commission it’s more than just a policing issue.
“The Ryan commission looked at addressing the effects of abuse, particularly the welfare and support for victims, preventing and reducing current and future abuse, dealing with offenders. Compensation for victims as well, this is a massive issue.”
The Bishop of Derry, Dr Séamus Hegarty, used a Holy Thursday sermon in St Eugene’s Cathedral in the city to apologise to victims of clerical child abuse. “Children and young people have been scarred for life as a result of heinous crimes,” he said. “These hidden and vile crimes are a source of great shame. They are a contradiction of priesthood.”
