Archdiocese of Birmingham Child Sex Abuse Allegations: Report Due To Be Published

20 June 2019, 06:02 | Updated: 20 June 2019, 06:11

A report into how allegations of child abuse were responded to within the Archdiocese of Birmingham is due to be published.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has been looking at whether there were failings within the Roman Catholic Church.

There were a series of hearings last year focusing on the archdiocese and allegations against four priests who served there.

The panel heard testimony from the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who was archbishop of Birmingham between 2000 and 2009.

Cardinal Nichols, who is the leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales, denied a child sex abuse survivor's claim that he had suppressed a 1968 note relating to an alleged incident involving the late Father John Tolkien, son of novelist JRR Tolkien.

Panel members looked at the nature and extent of any failures by the church, the archdiocese, the police, or other public authorities to protect children from harm.

It also looked at the adequacy of the church's response to such allegations, including what steps were taken in investigating, learning lessons, implementing changes and providing support to victims and survivors.