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SCOTLAND’S first minister yesterday threw down a challenge to the Roman Catholic Church when he issued an apology on behalf of the people of Scotland to the victims of institutionalised child abuse.
It was promptly made clear by senior sources in the Scottish Executive that Jack McConnell’s words were indirectly aimed at forcing the Church to follow suit.
A clearly irritated church official pointed out that almost three years ago, Archbishop Keith O’Brien, now a Cardinal, had issued an unreserved apology “to those who, over the years, have suffered any form of abuse at the hands of those representing the Catholic Church”.
To this, a source close to Mr McConnell responded: “It is a question for the victims of child abuse whether they regard the Archbishop’s words from 2001 as enough. MSPs of all parties think the Catholic Church should be clearer.”
The confrontation began when Mr McConnell, in advance of a debate in the Scottish Parliament on institutional child abuse, told MSPs that he wished to make a “sincere and full” apology on behalf of the people of Scotland to the victims of abuse in children’s residential homes in the past.
Mr McConnell said that the abuse was “deplorable, unacceptable and inexcusable”. He added: “Those children, adults today, deserve full recognition by us of what happened to them then.”
Mr McConnell said that he was unable to take his comments further because he did not want to “cut across” litigation before the courts. He stopped short of agreeing to calls from victims and MSPs of all parties for a full public inquiry, but agreed to set up a working group to look into unspecified “areas of concern” to victims of abuse.
Mr McConnell’s statement and the following debate were prompted by a petition submitted to the Parliament’s petitions committee in August 2002 by Christopher Daly, who says that he was regularly beaten by nuns at Nazareth House in Aberdeen in the 1970s.
He had urged the Executive to follow the Republic of Ireland’s lead and offer a public apology to victims — a move with which a growing number of MSPs agreed after more than 1,000 people came forward with allegations of physical or mental abuse in homes in Scotland.
It is believed that Mr McConnell chose to make the apology yesterday because of growing pressure on him from victims and MSPs and because he had, after weeks of negotiation, come to an agreement on the wording with representatives of the victims.
But MSPs close to the First Minister, and some of his officials, emphasised that he expected other organisations, especially the Catholic Church in Scotland, to do the same. One aide told The Times: “He does believe that others need to examine their consciences and recognise the case these individuals have.”
A church spokesman said that Archbishop O’Brien had made his statement in December 2001 after a priest, Father Steve Gilhooley, had written a book in which he had described abuse in a seminary in England. He also said that the homes run by “wholly autonomous religious orders” had no organisational connection with the Church. “There are no plans to revisit this issue”, he added. “What Archbishop O’Brien said three years ago stands and the sentiments expressed remain. That was a general, fulsome comment.” | 
bravenet.com
