The Catholic Church in Scotland remains in turmoil after claims that investigations into allegations of child abuse could have gone ahead in spite of Cardinal O’Brien’s veto. The decision by O’Brien to block the investigation into abuse at two Catholic boarding schools over three decades has been reported heavily in the press over the past few days, but according to catholic insiders this need not have delayed examinations into allegations.
The decision to delay an investigation was made when the disgraced O’Brien was president of the ruling Scottish Catholic Church’s Bishops Conference. In a letter to The Tablet last week, Archbishop Mario Conti, the former Archbishop of Glasgow, stated that the intention of the other seven bishops was to go ahead with an inquiry, but that it was blocked by Cardinal O’Brien.
Whilst O’Brien’s reported decision is factually accurate, critics claim that Canon law would still have allowed investigations and reports by diocese. Furthermore, “…a conference or its president (is not) able to act in the name of all bishops unless each and every bishop has given consent”.
Alan Draper, former advisor to the Catholic Church in Scotland on child protection, accused bishops of using delaying tactics and hiding behind the former cardinal’s veto. “They have to face up to it because their credibility has gone”, said Draper.