Videos Created by National Office for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland

Every month for the nine months beginning on the 21st January 2021, the National Board will place a short video on an aspect of a Theology of Safeguarding on their website.

Nine videos have been commissioned from theologians, scripture scholars and ethicists who live and work in Ireland, Italy and the United States. In month 10, October 2021, the National Board will host its National Conference on the theme of Towards a Theology of Safeguarding at which the questions posed by the video contributors will be addressed.

January 2021

The first presentation by Fr Hans Zollner can be accessed below.  Fr Hans Zollner SJ is founding President of the Centre for Child Protection and Professor at the Institute of Psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He is member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and consultor to the Congregation for Clergy. He is honorary professor at Durham University, UK. Lectures and conferences have taken him to many countries on six continents

February 2021

The second presentation is from Sr. Nuala Kenny who is a Sister  of Charity of Halifax.  

Sr. Nuala was the paediatrician member of the St John’s, Newfoundland Archdiocesan Committee on Child Sexual Abuse which produced a “landmark report’ in 1992. This committee identified both individual and systemic/cultural factors at work in the crisis.  In 1990-1992, she was appointed to the Canadian Conference of Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Clergy Sexual Abuse. This Committee produced From Pain to Hope, the first set of national guidelines on this topic.

Following this involvement, Sr Nuala returned to her academic and clinical career as paediatrician and medical ethicist and has travelled extensively giving reflections to clergy and laity from her books “Healing the Church: Diagnosing and Treating the Clergy Abuse Crisis”(Novalis, 2012) and Still Unhealed: Challenges for Conversion and Reform from the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis (Novalis and Twenty Third Publications, 2019. Her newest book focuses on pathology needing personal and ecclesial conversion in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Titled Prophetic Possibilities for the Post Pandemic Church it is due from Novalis in January, 2021.

March 2021

Dr. Ethna Regan CHF is Associate Professor in Theology and Ethics in Dublin City University.  A Holy Faith Sister, she taught for over a decade at the University of the West Indies, and worked with Credo Foundation for Justice in Port of Spain with socially displaced children, and in the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in the Caribbean. She also worked for five years in Samoa. Her PhD from the University of Cambridge was on theology and human rights, and she has also published in the areas of Catholic social thought, theological anthropology, and ecclesial responses to child abuse.

April 2021

Fr Paddy Boyle

A priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Administrator St. Benedict’s Grange Park and St. Monica’s Edenmore. Chaplain to the Deaf Community in Dublin. 2004/2005 trained with VDA as child Safeguarding Trainer. Training and Development Co-ordinator with the Dublin Diocese 2005 – 2016. Currently Tutor with the National Office for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Part-time lecturer in Biblical Theology in All Hallows College, Dublin 1998 – 2014.

The video presentation will be available on the 15th April.

You can find out more about the speakers, the conference and theology of safeguarding by following this link https://www.safeguarding.ie/national-conference-2021 .

For those interested in reading more about the work of the National Board for Safeguarding you can access their December Newsletter by Clicking Here

Statement by Archbishop Eamon Martin on the publication of Research Report on Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries in Northern Ireland

The month of January 2021 will go down in history as the time when the people of Ireland – north and south – came face to face with a stark reality of our past which we preferred would remain hushed and hidden – the way we stigmatised and harshly judged many vulnerable pregnant women in crisis and treated them and their children in such a cold and uncaring manner.  We made them feel guilty and ashamed.

As a Catholic Church leader in Ireland it is I who now feel embarrassed and guilty over the way in which we in the Church contributed to, and bolstered, that culture of concealment, condemnation, and self-righteousness.  For that I am truly sorry and ask the forgiveness of survivors.  How did we so obscure the love and mercy and compassion of Christ which is at the very heart of the Gospel?  Shame on us.

The persistence and the powerful testimonies of these same courageous survivors has lifted the lid on this dark chapter of our shared history and exposed our hypocrisy to the glaring light.

The important work of Dr McCormick, Professor O’Connell and their team is another step on the journey towards revealing the full truth of our past.  I thank them for their Report and encourage everyone to spend time with it, reflecting in particular on the striking oral history section which grounds their research in the testimonies of mothers and their children.

The story of Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries in Ireland – north and south – touches the lives of countless families across this island.  No doubt it will rekindle troubling memories and raise difficult questions for many of us.  However we can all play a part in the journey towards healing and reparation.  We can also ensure that lessons are learned for the present and the future.  No mother or child today should be made to feel unwelcome, unwanted or unloved.  No father today should shirk his responsibilities.  No priest or bishop or religious sister or any lay member of the Church today should deny the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus.  No family today should shun their child to protect some misguided notion of “respectability” in the parish community.  We still have so much to learn and so much work to do.

It is clear from the Research Report that there is scope for further investigation or inquiry into aspects of this complex story.  I encourage all in leadership within the Church and State to extend their full cooperation with the work of the independent investigation announced today so that those who have been most impacted can be helped to find hope and peace for the future.

The death has taken place of Fr Tommy McGeough PE on Monday 25 January.

Due to government guidelines and coronavirus restrictions, Fr Tommy’s funeral Mass will take place privately on Wednesday, 27 January, in the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady, Ardee, at 12.00 noon.  The Mass can be viewed at the following link: 

https://www.churchmedia.tv/camera/church-of-the-nativity-of-our-lady.

We ask that you keep Fr. McGeough in your prayers at this time, May he rest in peace.

CURRICULUM VITAE

 Very Rev Thomas McGeough PE

Born:               30 August 1932, Parish of Knockbridge

Studied           

St Patrick’s College, Armagh             1944-49

St Patrick’s College, Maynooth          1949-56

Ordained:        17 June 1956, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth

Appointments

On Missions with Kiltegan Fathers, Nigeria              1956-59

Emigrant Missions, England                                   1960-62

Curate, Errigal Ciaran                                            1962-69

Administrator, Coagh                                             1969-82

On Missions, Lagos, Nigeria                                    1982-91

Parish Priest, Crossmaglen                                      1991-06

Pastor Emeritus, Assistant Pastor, Ardee & Collon      2006-14

Pastor Emeritus                                                      2014-21

Date of Death: 25 January 2021, Corderry, Knockbridge, Co Louth

The death has taken place of Fr. Joe McKeever on Saturday 23rd January 2021.   

Due to the coronavirus restrictions, Fr. McKeever’s funeral will be private. It is hoped at a later date to arrange a Mass in his memory so that his many friends and former parishioners can attend.

We ask that you keep Fr. McKeever in your prayers at this time, May he rest in peace.

Very Rev Joseph McKeever PE

CURRICULUM VITAE

 Born:                     27 May 1951, Parish of Drumcree

Studied                  St Patrick’s College, Armagh.         1962-70

                             Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.         1970-73

                             St Joseph’s College, Belfast.          1976-79

                             Queen’s University, Belfast.           1983-84

                             St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.       1986-91

Ordained: 30 May 1991, Church of St John the Baptist, Portadown

Appointments

Curate, Holy Redeemer, Dundalk                                                 1991-93

Curate, Dungannon                                                                    1993-99

Curate, Crossmaglen                                                                  1999-06

Parish Priest, Crossmaglen                                                           2006-16

Pastor Emeritus                                                                           2016-Present

Seminarian Liaison                                                                       1998-2016

Date of Death: 23 January 2021

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference welcomes the encouraging news that a number of vaccines for COVID-19 are at an advanced stage of preparation and are likely to be available for use in the near future.  The Catholic Church recognises that safe and effective vaccination is an essential aspect of the prevention of disease.  We are encouraging Catholics to support a programme of vaccination, not only for their own good, but for the protection of life and the health of those who are vulnerable and for the common good of humanity.

Questions have arisen that human foetal cell-lines, which have their origins in abortions carried out in the past, are used in the development and production of some of the vaccines for COVID-19.

If a more ethically acceptable alternative is not readily available to them, it is morally permissible for Catholics to accept a vaccine which involves the use of foetal cell-lines, especially if the potential risk to life or health is significant, as in the case of a pandemic. Refusal to accept a vaccine could contribute to significant loss of life in the community and especially among those who are most vulnerable.  This reality must inform any judgement of conscience.

We reaffirm the consistent teaching of the Church that abortion is always gravely immoral.  The Church has always made a distinction, however, between formal (deliberate) involvement in an immoral act and material involvement, which may be incidental and remote.  The decision of those who decide to accept vaccines which have had some link with foetal cell-lines in the past does not imply any consent on their part to abortion. 

We note that many of the vaccines currently being developed do not depend for their design or production on foetal cell lines.  Catholics should continue to advocate for the availability of ethically-developed vaccines.  In that way they bear witness that biomedical research should always be conducted in a manner which is consistent with respect for life and for human dignity. 

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right.  The Church, while respecting intellectual property rights, believes that essential medicines, including vaccines, should be made available on the basis of need rather than on the basis of capacity to pay.  This position is consistent with the TRIPS agreement of the WTO, which permits national governments to arrange for the manufacture of essential pharmaceuticals, for domestic use and for the use of poorer countries, even without the consent of patent owners.

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference welcomes the encouraging news that a number of vaccines for COVID-19 are at an advanced stage of preparation and are likely to be available for use in the near future.  The Catholic Church recognises that safe and effective vaccination is an essential aspect of the prevention of disease.  We are encouraging Catholics to support a programme of vaccination, not only for their own good, but for the protection of life and the health of those who are vulnerable and for the common good of humanity.

Questions have arisen that human foetal cell-lines, which have their origins in abortions carried out in the past, are used in the development and production of some of the vaccines for COVID-19.

If a more ethically acceptable alternative is not readily available to them, it is morally permissible for Catholics to accept a vaccine which involves the use of foetal cell-lines, especially if the potential risk to life or health is significant, as in the case of a pandemic. Refusal to accept a vaccine could contribute to significant loss of life in the community and especially among those who are most vulnerable.  This reality must inform any judgement of conscience.

We reaffirm the consistent teaching of the Church that abortion is always gravely immoral.  The Church has always made a distinction, however, between formal (deliberate) involvement in an immoral act and material involvement, which may be incidental and remote.  The decision of those who decide to accept vaccines which have had some link with foetal cell-lines in the past does not imply any consent on their part to abortion. 

We note that many of the vaccines currently being developed do not depend for their design or production on foetal cell lines.  Catholics should continue to advocate for the availability of ethically-developed vaccines.  In that way they bear witness that biomedical research should always be conducted in a manner which is consistent with respect for life and for human dignity. 

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right.  The Church, while respecting intellectual property rights, believes that essential medicines, including vaccines, should be made available on the basis of need rather than on the basis of capacity to pay.  This position is consistent with the TRIPS agreement of the WTO, which permits national governments to arrange for the manufacture of essential pharmaceuticals, for domestic use and for the use of poorer countries, even without the consent of patent owners.

Archbishop Eamon Speaks to RTE Radio’s “This Week” about the Mother and Baby Homes Report.

Earlier today (Sunday 17th January 2021) Archbishop Eamon spoke to RTE Radio’s Justin McCarthy on the “This Week” programme about the Mother and Baby Homes Report that was released on Tuesday  12th January 2021.  

The interview can be accessed by clicking the link in the podcast below.