Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This thesis has determined the relationship between canon law and the safeguarding procedures of the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service when dealing with priests who have been accused of the sexual abuse of minors and examined whether such relationships are cohesive and complementary. Examination of relevant aspects of canon law and Scots law show that the two jurisdictions have functioned in parallel both in history and in recent times. Confusion as to the effectiveness of canon law came about in the 20th century, in particular with the emphasis on secrecy in Crimen Sollicitationis. The legislators of both systems have demonstrated a willingness to update their laws to ensure that emerging issues are encompassed in them, those suspected and such crimes as sexual abuse are given a fair trial and those found guilty receive due punishment. It then considered the 21st century development of safeguarding services which, particularly in the Anglo Saxon countries, have come to dominate all aspects of society concerning minors and other vulnerable groups. At the level of the universal church, moves have also been made with the most visible of these being the establishment of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In Scotland, however, much work remains to be done if the Church’s safeguarding service is to remain credible as its key document, the policy manual, “Awareness and Safety” is not fit for purpose. Likewise, the report of the McLellan commission, set up by the Bishops’ Conference to review safeguarding protocols and procedures that were in place in the Catholic Church throughout Scotland failed to achieve its goals. Instead it focused mainly on historical abuses and its report showed little evidence of a rigorous approach either to data collection or analysis. The main conclusions of this thesis are that at no time has constructive communication or collegial working between the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service and the canon lawyers of the Scottish Catholic Interdiocesan Tribunal taken place. Instead parallel structures, which potentially lead to confusion and distrust, have been developed by the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service. To address these, the extent of the safeguarding service’s remit within the Church in Scotland must be made clear and should be to provide the practical guidelines necessary for the prevention of abuses through supporting both civil and canon law.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Faith schools in England are coming under constant criticism. The central research question is whether there is any truth in the allegations made against Catholic schools in England? There are two main areas of attack on Catholic schools which will be investigated: admission policies and community cohesion. It is said is that admission policies are structured in such a way that they favour the more affluent Catholics and those more able. It is also suggested that Catholic schools are incapable of promoting community cohesion. The sub-research questions are: 1. How can Catholic schools play their part in the community? Are Catholic schools improving their bridging capital? 2. What key elements are in the mission statement of Catholic schools? 3. Do admission policies of Catholic secondary schools favour any particular group and disadvantage others? Bridging and bonding capital within and outside a Catholic school was investigated. All three schools in this research had strong bonding capacity. Within school the move away from religious capital and towards spiritual capital was examined. A quantitative survey and group interviews, with some face-to-face interviews, were used to investigate these areas along with the Catholic identity of the students. The results of this research on Catholic identity in three urban multi-ethnic schools was compared with that of Casson’s research in three rural schools with almost 100% White British students. The research in this thesis showed that the students had a mixture of Catholic identity. Similar to Casson’s research the students had developed their spiritual capital rather than religious capital. The shared Catholic identity enabled them to build strong bonding capital inside school and develop bridging capital outside school. Casson’s schools were not so successful at developing bridging capital. The research of Montemaggi et al. on free school meals raises questions on the validity of the conclusions drawn from some social selectivity research. The majority of Catholic schools are clearly inclusive. The criticism that admission policies of faith schools, including Catholic schools, are too complicated does appear to be valid in some cases and they might well favour middle class parents. Faith schools do have more top ability students at intake to secondary schools and fewer lower ability students, 2% in each case. Many of the mission statements examined did not mention efforts to integrate with their local community, nor the fact that their school was situated within a diverse community. An in-depth Case Study was carried out with one school on how it promotes community cohesion in its local community. Both quantitative and qualitative research was used with group interviews and some individual follow up face-to-face interviews and some through questionnaires. This Project was an example of how bridging capital can be built and showed that a Catholic school is capable of promoting community cohesion. Vatican documents make it clear that the Christian faithful have the right and duty to establish Catholic schools. This right is also reinforced in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.