15 Abuse Claims For Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Scotland received 15 allegations of abuse last year.

Claims of sexual, physical, verbal or emotional abuse were made against seven members of the clergy and six others people working in the church community.

Six of the allegations related to historical abuse in the 1980s or earlier, the Church said.

No prosecutions have followed the 2013 allegations, although three people have been removed from ministry and one is no longer a volunteer.

Two cases are being reviewed by the procurator fiscal.

The allegations were contained in the Catholic Church's annual Diocesan Safeguarding Audit, published today, which covers each of Scotland's eight dioceses.

According to the audit, PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) checks were carried out on 488 Clergy and 4,225 volunteers.

Ten of the abuse claims were of a sexual nature and the remainder involved physical, emotional or verbal abuse.

Two of the alleged perpetrators are deceased.

In 2013 there were 668 priests and 57 permanent deacons in Scotland.

A Church spokesman said: The Catholic Church in Scotland seeks to safeguard the welfare of people of all ages who are involved in whatever capacity with the Church and its organisations.

The publication of this audit is an example of the commitment to transparency and openness made previously by Scotland's Catholic Bishops.

The Catholic Church would support an evidence-based inquiry into abuse in care in Scotland.''

The spokesman said an external review of the Church's safeguarding procedures being led by Andrew McLellan will report next year when a review of all cases of abuse from 1947 to 2005 will also be published.