Abuse victims accuse Catholic church of using talks as smokescreen...

Negotiations on delivering a package of care for English and Welsh victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic priests are on the verge of collapse after survivor organisations accused the church of using the discussions as a smokescreen for inaction.

Two groups have pulled out of discussions led by the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) and the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service (CSAS), describing them as shambolic and "toothless" and unlikely to achieve anything by May 2012, when the Pope's deadline for a progress report expires.

Graham Wilmer, who heads the Lantern Project and was himself abused by a Catholic priest as a teenager, said: "We were prepared to talk to [the institution] that had harmed us, even though it was uncomfortable, because the end of it should be worthwhile," he said. "[But] we can't trust them. What has effectively has happened is nothing." Full story...

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