Child Abuse Justice - At Last

It has taken this long for the law to realise that adults who seriously inflict injury on children have to be prosecuted?  On Monday those who stay silent will now be prosecuted.  Up till now if a couple are arrested for hurting children, unless the police can PROVE which one did the hitting then they can't bring charges.  Thousands of abusers have walked free.  Why has it taken this long to change the law?  I despair.  But at least on Monday no one can get away with it anymore.

I was deeply affected by the horror of Baby P.  One of the 3 jailed for his murder - and it was murder - is now free, the lodger.  The mother will be released very soon if her sentence of 5 years is adhered to (only 5 years?)  Maybe she's out already.

I was so moved by this case that I wrote 200 letters, went to Tottenham to the house where Baby P died and posted the letters by hand to the surrounding houses asking if any neighbours would speak to me about what it was like to be next to such abuse.  1 family replied.  This is the programme I made, it features a poem written by Miles Chambers specially for the programme and an interview with a local Bristol lady who lives next door to a family who she thinks may be hurting their children.  I met Yvonne whilst filming hedgehogs in her garden (she runs a sanctuary for injured hedgehogs).  We had to stop filming because of the screaming mother and terrified cries of the children next door.

Baroness Scotland was asked to review the sentences passed on those who murdered Peter Connolly - they seemed so lenient for the mother and lodger - but she said they were fair and upheld them.  I wonder why she thought that?

Just Around the Corner by Curlewmedia

Tina Beattie has just published a thought provoking and challenging article called "The Catholic Church's Scandal: Modern Crisis, Ancient Roots."
It is well worth reading if you are interested in a historical look at the mindset that could have produced such terrible abuse. It is a courageous article and I agree totally with Tina.

The Tablet is, and has been for weeks, full of articles/letters/analysis of the crisis and how it is being handled - for those of us who are lay believers it is all very distrubing. I personally feel this could be a time of great renewal and grace for the Catholic Church. A time to reassess what is important, who should be considered fit to lead and a time to leave behind an obsession with clericalism. My only hope at the moment is for justice and peace for the thousands who were affected by the abuse. A letter in this week's The Tablet explains beautifully why this man is still a priest and still holds dear to his beliefs. Fr Joseph O'Hanlon from Canterbury writes:

"I shall remain a Catholic priest. But it will be priesthood lived in sorrow and in repentance that such sins have been committed in the name of all that is holy. I shall live with the bewildered people of God who cannot comprehend what has been done by those raised to the altar, with a people scandalised by those who have covered up crimes which call out to God for vengeance. I shall continue to believe that Chris is risen. But I remain convinced we are not."

Just Around the Corner

JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Peter Connolley was 17 months old when he died after months of sustained abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger. I was deeply distressed by this case. If I was so disturbed what must it be like to live just around the corner? Here is my programme on the experience of living right next to terrible crimes like this.

Mandy is a single mother, her daughter T'shan is 16 and her son Junior is 12 - they live down the road. Helen lives near Bristol and next door to people who are often investigated for the treatment of their children. Miles Chambers is a poet who's brother lives near the house where Peter died and who wrote a beautiful and moving poem called I had A Dream the Other Night. Fr Luke Miller is the Anglican parish priest of Tottenham. The programme is 27 mins long.