It found Cardinal Sean Brady had names and addresses of those being abused by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

However, he did not pass on those details to police or parents.

Cardinal Brady said he accepted he was part of “an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the Church”.

To read the full story click here.

Women who were sexually assaulted by cabbie John Worboys are suing him and his vehicle insurers, arguing he used his taxi to attack them.

A High Court hearing will decide if the unnamed insurer is liable to pay any damages awarded against Worboys to a group of eight women.

It will consider how far car insurance covers harm caused by crimes using a vehicle – not just road accidents.

To read more go to the BBC Site here

Victims feel compromised by the way in which the Australian government has set up a parliamentary enquiry into the way in which religious and other organisations handle sexual abuse complaints.. This article in an online journal called “The Conversation” explains more

A highly successful press conference took place at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London in Thursday 19th April 2012 between 2 and 3pm.

Television cameras and journalists were in attendance together with members of the campaign committee, and interested others.

David Greenwood the chairman and ACAL executive committee member opened the meeting by summarising what the campaign was endeavouring to achieve, the handed over to those on the top table to give their views. We heard compelling and passionate addresses by

Richard Scorer, solicitor from Pannone and Partners and ACAL Executive Committee member
Ann Lawrence from MACSAS: Ministry and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors
Sue Cox from Survivors Voice Europe
Lucy Duckworth of NAPAC
Graham Wilmer of The Lantern Project
Phil Johnson, an Abuse Survivor

The conference has been reported in the Independent – to read more click here

The full press pack can be downloaded as Word Documents below

Contents page
Campaign Evidence Document
School Child Protection Summary
School Safeguarding Table
Excerpts from stories of clerical abuse survivors

It was announced that the new website had gone live on the day of the press conference – www.stopchurchchildabuse.co.uk

PRESS CONFERENCE: 19/4/12 AT 14.00HRS,

CONWAY HALL, 25 RED LION SQUARE, WC1R 4RL

Alliance to STOP CHURCH CHILD ABUSE calls on the Government to commission a Public Inquiry into abuse of children and vulnerable adults by Clergy in England and Wales.

Who we are

The STOP CHURCH CHILD ABUSE campaign is an alliance of clergy sexual abuse survivors, charities that support survivors, specialist lawyers and interested individuals working in the field of child safeguarding. We have come together to investigate and highlight the serious safeguarding failures of church institutions, from 1954 to the present.

Why we exist

For 20 years the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Church of England/Wales have repeatedly stated that they will respond appropriately to reports of child sexual abuse. Despite these assurances, many prosecutions have revealed that Church authorities have covered up past reports of child abuse and allowed clergy to remain in post despite allegations and in some cases past convictions for child sexual offences. In many reported cases further child abuse has taken place.

Church run schools

Safeguarding arrangements in many church schools are seriously inadequate. For example the Church of England vicar Gordon Rideout was allowed to remain as Chair of Governors at Bishop Bell School, Eastbourne, despite the head teacher and senior clergy being aware of previous allegations of child sexual abuse made against him.

OUR FINDINGS :-

• From our research between 542 and 1,776 clergy with allegations against them have gone un-prosecuted.
• Church safeguarding procedures allow Bishops to keep allegations away from the police and social services.
• There have been recently discovered cover-ups in which Bishops protected clergy.
• The churches have allowed convicted sex offenders to be ordained.
• Most church schools do not make a commitment to report all allegations of abuse to the authorities.
• Failure to implement effective child protection is putting children at risk in 2012.

What are we calling for?

We call on the Government to set up an Independent Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy, religious and other church officials within all Dioceses and institutions of the Catholic Church in England & Wales and the Church of England and in Wales.

Such an inquiry should have powers to compel the disclosure of all files of clergy, religious and other church officials containing reports and allegations of child sexual abuse. It should receive evidence, both oral and written from victims of child sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and religious within parish communities and church institutions and also be able to compel those in positions of authority within Dioceses and religious orders to attend and give evidence. The Inquiry should have the power to make recommendations concerning legislation to improve safeguarding in church institutions.

 The Alliance is holding a press conference on

 Thursday 19^th April, at 2pm, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL.

We will be revealing our research documents in full, discussing safeguarding in schools today and providing documents that highlight current failings within the Church. There will also be the opportunity for more detailed interviews with survivors, lawyers and campaigners afterwards.

For more information contact:

David Greenwood on 01924 868911 / david.greenwood@jordanssolicitors.co.uk

For information on the schools project and for press conference inquires contact:

 Lucy Duckworth on 07427605202 / lucy@napac.org.uk

“Dear SNAP supporter,

Thanks to your help and encouragement, we have been able to marshal our resources and begin fighting back against the recent attacks by Catholic bishops against victims. In the past five days, we’ve filed two lengthy legal documents – one in Missouri and one in The Hague.

Last week in Kansas City, we responded in court to a motion by church lawyers trying to force us to answer even more invasive deposition questions and turn over confidential information about victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors, journalists and concerned parishioners across the United States.

In that document, we again detail how we’ve never spoken to the man suing Father Michael Tierney, nor broken any “gag” order. We explain how church officials and lawyers are trying to violate the freespeech and free association rights of many individuals. Our filing also includes a new, long affidavit signed by SNAP President Barbara Blaine which gives the judge more information about the work we do and the people we help.

Contrary to a few loud claims, SNAP does not try to “destroy” the Catholic hierarchy. We seek justice for those people who lives were destroyed by the hierarchy. And we work to prevent more lives from being destroyed by the hierarchy.

To that end, yesterday, we submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) new evidence and extensive documentation showing ongoing child rape by Catholic clerics and continuing cover-ups by Catholic officials. The filing underscored the urgent need to prevent future child sex crimes and cover-ups and hold top Vatican staff accountable for widespread human rights abuses. Much of the new material includes evidence that has come to light in the six months since our original submission. These developments demonstrate again both how widespread this human rights crisis is and how it tragically continues.

Since September, when we first contacted the ICC, nearly 500 victims, witnesses, whistleblowers and supporters from 65 different countries have reached out to us. We’re doing all we can to help them.

As a reminder, the jurisdiction of the ICC includes rape, sexual violence, and torture as crimes against humanity. It also provides for individual criminal liability for those with command or superior responsibility over those who directly commit such crimes.

In addition to the new evidence, our tireless attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights informed the ICC prosecutor about the “retaliatory and harassing” legal moves church officials are making against us since our ICC complaint was filed.

We could not have accomplished any of this without your consistent help, your moving letters of support and, of course, your donations. Your generosity has been crucial in helping us recover from these new “get tough” assaults by Catholic hierarchy and to fight back, for the sake of the already wounded and the still vulnerable.

Thank you from all of us!

Thank you from all of us

Barbara Blaine, SNAP President David Clohessy, SNAP Director”

Around 90 people who were sexually and physically abused by their carers in Jersey children‘s homes will receive compensation of up to £60,000 after the government in St Helier offered an “unreserved apology” to the victims.

Announcing the launch of a “historic abuse redress scheme” on Thursday, Jersey’s chief minister, Ian Gorst, acknowledged “that the care system that operated historically in the island of Jersey failed some children in the states’ residential care in a serious way”.

To read the complete story in the Guardian click here

There has been an outpouring of support against such a step, and SNAP has set up an online petition.

Add your name to the petition by clicking here

ACAL members are invited to make contributions of articles or case summaries for the newsletters.  These should be sent by email to info@childabuselawywers.com by the following deadlines:

March 2012: 29th March

June 2012: 14th June

September 2012: 13th September

December 2012: 7th December