Singapore
The Archbishop of Singapore says there have been some allegations of child abuse involving the Catholic Church, but they were “judged to be inconclusive”.
File photo of the Archbishop of Singapore Most Reverend William Goh.
SINGAPORE: The Catholic Church in Singapore is now reporting all claims of child abuse to the police when its own investigation team looks into such allegations, the Archbishop of Singapore said on Saturday (Sep 1).
In a message on the church’s website about sex abuse scandals overseas, the Most Reverend William Goh said a handful of cases had emerged in Singapore. “These were handed over to the Professional Standards Office (PSO) of the Archdiocese for investigation. Thus far, all the cases have been judged to be inconclusive by the PSO,” he said, adding that to the best of his knowledge, there have been no cover-ups in Singapore.
The PSO was set up in 2011, is staffed by “lay professionals” and its investigations are conducted at arm’s length from the Archbishop, Rev Goh said. “This is to ensure total impartiality and non-interference from the Archbishop’s Office.”
The message also said that any allegations of abuse must now also be reported to the police when the PSO takes up the case.
“This is to discourage falsified or exaggerated claims which malign the innocent, as the pain of being questioned and living under suspicion while waiting for judgement to be pronounced can be as traumatic for these priests as it is for those who have truly been abused,” said the Archbishop.
The church in Singapore has also put in place systems and processes to reduce the risk of sexual abuse. For example, all priests and employees must declare that they have not been convicted of any sex offences. And those with known records “will not be allowed to work in ministry or mingle with the vulnerable”.
In addition, those “who want to join priestly or religious life will not only have to sign this declaration but they would be subjected to more stringent psychological tests and background checks”. Church volunteers, especially those dealing with children, will need to be “vetted and cleared of sexual crimes against children”.
The enhanced measures come against a backdrop of numerous child abuse cases involving the Catholic Church around the world.
In his message, the Archbishop of Singapore highlighted the news from last month that some 300 priests had sexually abused over a thousand children in Pennsylvania over the last 70 years. Last month while visiting Ireland, Pope Francis said he was ashamed of the Catholic Church’s failure to adequately address the crimes of sex abuse by clergy.
Rev Goh echoed those sentiments: “With the growing number of revelations and scathing reports from the media, we cannot but begin to doubt our Church leaders,” he said, noting that some people feel ashamed to be associated with the Catholic Church.
