Fr Michael Toomey speaks to schoolchildren The latest annual report from the Church’s child protection office shows a decrease in the number of new clerical child abuse allegations reported to it.
There were 178 total allegations reported in the last nine months of 2025 with the vast majority of alleged incidents dating back to the period 1960 to 1990. The previous report, which covered the previous 12 months, saw a total of 385 allegations reported. Only four of the 178 allegations relate to the period post-2000, with a majority of the allegations relating to the period from 1960 to 1999. 10 of the allegations did not have a definite timeframe attributed to them, read the report from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCCI).
Meanwhile, in their statement following the Summer 2026 General Meeting of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, the bishops wrote that they have been informed by NBSCCCI that there will be a third round of ‘Independent Reviews of Child Safeguarding Practice’, which will begin in the coming months.
The bishops reported that “the focus of the upcoming reviews will be on the culture of safeguarding in the Church body, and with an emphasis on leadership and accountability”.
The methodology for the reviews will involve external independent safeguarding experts, and “will examine all aspects of child safeguarding in dioceses and congregations,” read the bishops’ statement.
Writing about the upcoming reviews in the NBSCCCI Annual Report, Mr Gordan said they will be conducted “through a mixture of field visits, meetings with relevant personnel and examination of written material.” He expressed hope that the “significant improvements in practice that were evidenced by previous reviews” will continue.