by Brendan Geary

It is now twenty years since revelations of child abuse in Boston Archdiocese exploded into public awareness, followed by similar revelations around the world. This is a good time to reflect on challenges currently facing the Church.

The appointment of safeguarding officers in dioceses, parishes, religious orders and institutions in the English-speaking world has been a significant achievement. However, we know from recent audits of Scottish dioceses that there is still work to be done to reach  comprehensive levels of protection and care.

Many people now adopt an internationally used ‘Standards’ approach to safeguarding which identifies 8 – 10 standards. This helps standardise policies and facilitate comparison and monitoring.

Dr Brendan Geary is a Marist Brother and served as Provincial from 2010 – 2019. He provides training in the fields of safeguarding and human development, and is currently involved in a research project with Marist Brothers and former Brothers from Australia who abused children, to try to understand better what led to their abusive behaviour.