Survivors' groups end 'exploratory' talks with Catholic Church

MACSAS has ended 'exploratory talks' with the Catholic church convened last July to discuss how the Church could respond to the victims of abuse perpetrated by clergy and others in pastoral roles within the Catholic Church.

In a press release issued on 11 October 2011 MACSAS set out the reasons for ending the talks after more than a year of endeavouring to have the voices and needs of thousands of victims of rape, torture and other abuses, perpetrated within the Catholic church, heard and acknowledged. The Catholic Church is still not ready to accept responsibility for the actions of its clergy and members of religious congregations who raped and abused thousands of children in this country over the past 50 years. Victims have been reporting this abuse to Church authorities for decades and have yet to receive any compassionate or appropriate response.
This failure to hear, to respond and to accept responsibility is a scandal to the Christianity.

No Bishop attended the 'exploratory talks' and the Archbishop of Westminster refused to have any discussions with any survivor organisations even when it became obvious that the people appointed by the Church to engage in these talks, lacked the skills and authority necessary to engage in any meaningful discussion with those who represented victims of appalling crimes committed within the Catholic Church.

The Lantern Project, who works with survivors of abuse, including those abused by clergy, has also left the talks because the actions of Bishops in England and Wales are incompatible with any public apologies made by the conference of Bishops for the abuse perpetrated against children in this country by clergy. In fact, as can be seen in their press release, Bishops have continued to argue in the courts that the Church has no responsibility for the actions of its clergy or members of religious orders (most recently the Portsmouth and the St Williams cases both of which are awaiting decisions from the courts).

MACSAS has stated throughout that we are open to any processes aimed at providing justice and redress for victims and reconciliation between the Church and those so terribly harmed, where appropriate. The Church in England and Wales does not yet understand the need for these processes and yet over 300 cases are in the civil courts and dozens of cases are currently in the Criminal courts.