Police get dossier of alleged abuse in Catholic Church

By TRISTAN STEWART-ROBERTSON
Published 25th Nov 2013, 00:00 BST
Allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against Cardinal Keith O' Brien. Picture: Donald MacleodAllegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against Cardinal Keith O' Brien. Picture: Donald Macleod
Allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against Cardinal Keith O' Brien. Picture: Donald Macleod
A DOSSIER of documents containing allegations of more than 20 cases of abuse in the Catholic Church has been passed to police.

Confidential letters from Scottish bishops, dating back to 1995 and including every diocese in Scotland, will be reviewed by Police Scotland, the force ­confirmed.

In one, a bishop describes abuse against “two severely mentally-handicapped young female adults”, according to reports in a Sunday newspaper. Another reportedly refers to a 15-year-old boy as “sexually mature”.

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Former advisor to the Motherwell diocese, Alan Draper, called for criminal investigations and an independent Scottish Government inquiry into sexual abuse in the Church.

The revelation came as it was revealed that a former moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly has been asked to look into safeguarding procedures in the Catholic church. Andrew McLellan, who is also a former chief inspector of prisons for Scotland, will oversee the review.

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said the Church has co-operated with police and would continue to do so.

He added: “I understand that all the information concerned was passed to police many years ago and investigated. If someone has been in possession of material which they felt showed criminal behaviour, they would be expected to explain why they had taken 18 years to hand it to the authorities.

“The current initiatives being launched are not only statistical, qualitative analysis will also be undertaken. The needs of survivors, remains a primary concern of the Church.