The Catholic Church has published its terms of reference for an independent commission on child abuse, and as a result has taken the first important steps towards a culture of openness on this issue. It has handed responsibility for the commission to Judge Gillian Hussey. At the risk of a bad pun, she is known to take no prisoners, and for being both brisk and fair, by Breda O'Brien.
She may appoint up to six other members of the commission, and no doubt it will be a priority to ensure that victims are adequately represented on it.
Her task will be difficult, but not perhaps for the reasons expected. There have been alarming hints that records might have been burnt, due to a provision of canon law. My educated guess is that most bishops did not know of the existence of this obscure provision until it was pointed out to them by a journalist.
Nor will be there be a lack of compliance on the part of individual bishops for three reasons. First, they realise that inept handling of complaints caused further pain to victims, and this is a failure in their mission as Christians. This is a source of deep pain to many of them.
Secondly, their credibility as pastors has been well-nigh shattered, and this greatly diminishes their ability to act as the conscience of society on other issues. Thirdly, and this is the least edifying reason, anyone harbouring thoughts of non co-operation will be aware that Judge Hussey will have no hesitation in naming and shaming. If she feels she is being seriously obstructed, she will resign. That is why she was chosen by the bishops, and it is evidence of the seriousness with which they take this issue.
Irish people have always had an acute eye for the failings of their local priest or nuns, but an affection and tolerance nonetheless. Perhaps, since the scandals, this has developed into a protective feeling, especially where a priest or a religious is involved and active.
On one level this must be comforting, but on another, no one wishes to be assured that while you are a decent person, the organisation to which you belong is highly questionable.
The fact that the institutional church has had to "borrow" Judge Hussey's credibility, because it would not have been trusted to do the job itself, is very serious. The church has a mountain to climb in order to be trusted again.
The only way forward is for the church to move from a position where it is synonymous in the public mind with child abuse, to where it is synonymous with the highest standards of child protection. It has already made a start, for which it has not been given sufficient credit, but much more needs to be done.
Publicising the child abuse guidelines would be a good place to start. The vast majority of Catholics are completely unaware that every diocese has a delegate who is designated to deal with complaints of child abuse.
In at least one diocese, along with posters advertising established agencies like Accord and Cura, there are similar posters telling people what number to ring if they have a concern regarding child abuse.
In another diocese, advertisements are run in the local paper to reach those who do not attend church. If these dioceses can publicise the service, why not all? Current structures in the church militate against easy dissemination of best practice. Each diocese is a little island, and it is largely an accident if innovative practices in one diocese find their way to another.
The care of children in the future, and the care of those who have been damaged in the past, are the first priorities. But this will not happen unless the deficiencies in basic communication within the church are addressed. After nearly a decade of scandals, a comprehensive picture of the extent of child abuse was not available to bishops themselves. How can you deal with a problem if you lack basic information and a mechanism for collating it? The British Nolan report on church-related child abuse recommends an annual report on each diocese as to how they fulfil the requirements of abuse guidelines. In Ireland this will be impossible as long as the national child protection office remains only an advisory body. It was a good step to appoint a layman, Paul Bailey, as child protection officer, but if he is to be allowed to be effective, the church has to show not only a real commitment to admitting to, apologising and making reparation for mistakes in the past, but to really protecting children in the future.
That means committing resources to a comprehensive system of training and awareness-raising nationwide. Everybody who works in a voluntary or professional capacity with children in the church, whether it be in a children's liturgy or a local youth club, needs to be completely aware of what is needed to create a safe, caring environment for children.
A social worker told me that he was asked to help out with the training of his son's football team in a small club. He was invited to an interview, was asked whether he had any record of criminal offences involving children, and was told that it was standard practice to check people out with the Garda.
He received a letter of appointment, and a code of conduct detailing everything from behaviour in dressing rooms to bringing children home from matches. If this is possible in a small football club, it should be possible for the church.
If the church can show a real commitment to this area it will not only restore its own credibility and re-establish its right to moral authority, but it will do society as a whole an enormous service. Although the harm done by priests and religious dominates the headlines, they constitute a tiny percentage of those who abuse children.
We have not yet even begun to come to terms with the harm done to children by those who are within their own families, which is where the bulk of abuse takes place.
If the church can face up to this issue, it could provide valuable help for the rest of us to begin to deal with the complex horrors closer to home.
bobrien@irish-times.ie