Scottish bishops accept independent report on clergy abuse, apologize to victims

August 18, 2015

The Catholic bishops of Scotland have issued an apology to the victims of sexual abuse, upon the release of a report from an independent commission on the topic.

The commission—chaired by Dr. Andrew McLellan, a bishop of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland—had called for an “unmistakeable and unequivocal” apology from the Catholic hierarchy, along with a series of steps to ensure support for abuse victims and to guard against future occurrences. “As the president of the Bishops’ Conference, and on behalf of all the Bishops of Scotland, I want to offer a profound apology to all those who have been harmed and who have suffered in any way as a result of actions by anyone within the Catholic Church,” said Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow. The Scottish bishops said that they fully accepted the conclusions and recommendations of the McLellan report.

 

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Further information:

• Archbishop apologises on behalf of Scottish Catholic Church for ‘criminal and sinful’ abuse (Catholic Herald)
• Justice must be done for abuse survivors, says McLellan report (Catholic Herald)
• Catholic Church apologises to victims of abuse (Scotsman)