Sunday, 12th June 2011
Broadcast on RTE Radio 1.
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/religion/2011-06-12.html
10.45 am Holy Communion from the Church of Ireland Parish, Shankill, Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny. Celebrant: The Very Reverend Tom Gordon, Dean of Leighlin with members of the congregation participating. Preacher: The Reverend Willie Stewart. Music Director: David Maxwell with organist, David Forde
Currently there seems to be no interest in evaluating whether the evidence we have presented reflects the true position. There has been no article in Ireland or in England which addresses these issues since we published our posts.
The general consensus seems to be Willi is not in breach of any law. The fact that he was sentenced to the Probation Act 1.1 is taken to show that his crime was not serious. There is a total failure to understand the reason this happened was due to generosity of the victim and his family. If Willi had in fact had a custodial sentence he would not have been able to reside in the USA where he was resident after the events of 2004. Also it was just assumed that this item would have been on the RTE 9:00 o’clock news and covered by the print media. So the desire of the victim to warn others was never realised, and the warning and opprobrium which should have resulted from his guilty plea was not communicated to the wider public. The reasons can be studied in earlier posts. If Willi was a plumber or engineer that would be fine, but the failure of the media and the Church of Ireland and now the Church of England represents a failure of ethics. The most basic aspects of Christian discipline have been ignored and he is in a setting where he has access to vulnerable young men. That is not someone who is affected by some form of intellectual disability, the view the Diocese of Norfolk takes in its dealing with this issue, but a person of a sound mind who can be groomed and brought under undue influence by a charismatic personality who has a position of authority and influence. Since accessing the Diocese of Norwich web site on the 25th of June I note the document on the subject of young people or vulnerable adults is no longer available.*
We took time to post this, in fact 6 years, so we must not rush into this as it is not about revenge or humiliation but truth.
Vulnerable Adult Protection
Within our churches we are committed to respectful pastoral ministry to all adults and the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable people.
Our policy is to:
- Seek to offer pastoral care to anyone who has suffered abuse
- Carefully select and train those with formal pastoral responsibility initiating Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures where appropriate.
- Respond without delay to any complaint made that an adult has been harmed
- Challenge any abuse of power by anyone in a position of trust
- Offer ministry to any member of our church community known to have offended against a vulnerable person.
- (Note absence of any reference to Church discipline in the criteria for a Church to address this issue.)
Safe Haven for Vulnerable Adults
The Diocese of Norwich issued the guidelines, called Safe Haven, on the protection of vulnerable adults in November 2007. It is an essential document for:
- Clergy, Readers, Licenced Lay Workers, Named Persons for the protection of children or vulnerable adults
It should also be held by, or easily available to, anyone whose work involves children, young people or vulnerable adults. This includes:
- Youth & Children’s Workers, PCC Secretaries, Pastoral Teams, Choir Leaders, Bell Tower Captains
*Safe Haven for Vulnerable Adults is currently under review and therefore not available to download at present.
Contact us
If you have any questions about vulnerable adult protection please contact our Children, Youth & Families team.
Any allegations or suspicions of abuse must be directed immediately to the Bishop’s Advisor for Safe- guarding, Dr Roger Hennessey on 00441263 768023.
Published on: 30/06/2011
Earlier posts:
http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/further-correspondence-around-willi-stewart-the-archbishop-and-core/
http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/to-a-core-trustee-proposals-to-address-the-current-crisis-4304/
http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/further-note-to-trustee-about-church-discipline-25204/
http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/reflections-on-the-period-between-willi-stewart-resigning-in-2004-and-his-court-case-in-2005/
http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/willi-stewart-trial-correspondence-between-dialogue-ireland-and-david-pierrepoint/
Filed under: Abuse
