The Church is very keen to describe the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) as 'an independent organisation'; an assertion which is frequently repeated by an uncritical media.
However, they seem somewhat less ready to explain in what way the NCSC is 'independent' when its membership is dominated by bishops, priests and members of religious orders and its chairs are appointed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) and the Congress of Religious (CoR).
The rhetoric is of 'independence', but the reality is that the panel that has short-listed candidates to replace Baroness Scotland (who reigned as Chair of the NCSC after only 10 months - see http://caaccew.blogspot.com/2012/01/resignation-of-baroness-scotland.html ) "was appointed by the 2 presidents of CBCEW and CoR: Fr Marcus Stock,
General Secretary CBCEW representing Archbishop Nichols, President CBCEW , Brother Tom Campbell, representing the President of CoR, Bishop Lang and Sr Jane Bertelsen the other vice chair of the NCSC." There appear to have been no members who were not bishops, priests or members of religious orders and no representatives of survivors' organisations.
Bishop Lang is, of course, bishop of Clifton and currently at the centre of the controversy surrounding the resignations of Roger Bird, the chairman of the diocese’s safeguarding commission; Jane Dziadulewicz, the safeguarding coordinator; and Eugene Gallagher, the safeguarding officer, following a dispute over the handling of a priest in the diocese of Clifton who was convicted for downloading child pornography.
Mr Bird also resigned from the board of the NCSC (see http://caaccew.blogspot.com/2012/01/key-members-of-clifton-safeguarding.html ).
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