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Article: Nolan Report: Child abuse checks are urged for all priests NOLAN REPORT Catholic Church urged to set up database to screen for paedophiles and bishops must not have power to overrule selection boards
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- April 18, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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CANDIDATES FOR the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church will
face compulsory checks on whether they have any criminal convictions
involving young people under radical new guidelines presented in a
report yesterday.
The vetting is one of 50 wide-ranging recommendations in the first
independent report on child protection by the Church in England and
Wales and is expected to be adopted as official policy.
It follows severe criticism of the Catholic hierarchy over a
series of highly damaging cases involving paedophile priests. Twenty
one members of the clergy were convicted of offences against children
in Britain between 1995 and 1999.