Appendix A: Glossary of Terms 

Canon law

In the Catholic Church, canon law is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the Church’s hierarchical authorities to regulate its internal organisation and government, and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. 

Child

Anyone below the age of 18 years. 

Children with specific needs

This term is used to cover the specific, or unique, out-of-the-ordinary concerns created by a child’s medical, physical, mental or developmental condition or disability. Additional services are usually needed to help a person in one or more of the following areas (among others): thinking, communication, movement, getting along with others, and taking care of oneself. 

Church authority

This term does not appear in canon law. It can refer to the leader of the Church body, usually the bishop or provincial, or the senior administrative authority of a lay organisation or ecclesial movement. This term includes (while in office) abbot, abbess, archbishop, cardinal, congregational leader, diocesan administrator, prior, prioress, province leader, regional, superior, and unit leader. 

Church body

Canon law contains many distinctions between the types of organisations and bodies that have developed over the life of the Catholic Church. It would be impractical to include all of these when referring to an element of the Church that has a child safeguarding responsibility. In this document the term ‘Church bodies’ is used as shorthand to include all constituent members of the Catholic Church in Ireland. 

Church personnel

This term is used to define those who work (voluntarily or paid) for the Church body. This includes clergy, male and female religious, all in formation for priesthood and religious life, staff and volunteers. 

Cleric

One who is ordained in sacred ministry in the Church. Clerics are divided into deacons, priests and bishops. 

Collecting the proofs: As defined in Canon 695, this is part of the process of dismissal to gather facts, on the imputability of the offence. 

Complainant

This term describes a person who has made an allegation of abuse. 

Constituent member

The twenty six dioceses of the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland; members of the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI); and such other congregations, organisations, associations, ecclesial movements or prelatures on the island of Ireland with the prior agreement of the members of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Delict

A crime in canon law; an external violation of a law or precept gravely imputable by reason of malice or negligence. 

Designated Liaison Person (DLP)

The person appointed by the Church authority to liaise with the statutory authorities regarding child safeguarding suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations. 

In Ireland

For the purposes of this document, the term ‘in Ireland’ includes Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If the term ‘Northern Ireland’ or ‘Republic of Ireland’ is used, it is in relation to something that is only applicable to that specific jurisdiction. 

IT

Information technology. 

Mandated persons

People who have contact with children and/or families, who, by virtue of their qualifications, training and experience, are in a key position to help protect children from harm. 

Mandatory reporting

There is a legal requirement to report offences in Northern Ireland. This means that any concerns of this nature must be referred to the police by law. The DLP makes this referral to the police. Under the Children First Act 2015 mandated persons have two main legal obligations under the Children First Act 2015: 

As a mandated person, under the legislation you are required to report any knowledge, belief or reasonable suspicion that a child has been harmed, is being harmed, or is at risk of being harmed. The Act defines harm as assault, ill-treatment, neglect or sexual abuse, and covers single and multiple instances. 

Ministry with children 

This includes: 

Preliminary investigation

This is a canonical term referring to the process by which a Church authority determines whether an alleged delict, which has reached the threshold of a semblance of truth, is not manifestly false or frivolous and remains a case to answer. 

PSNI

Police Service of Northern Ireland. 

Religious

Female and male members of religious institutes and societies in which the members take public vows and live a life of ministry in common. 

Respondent

This term is used for the person about whom child protection suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations have been made. Tusla the Child and Family Agency may refer to the respondent as a Person Subject to Allegation of Abuse (PSAA). 

Statutory authorities

These include Tusla the Child and Family Agency and An Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland, and the PSNI and the Health and Social Care trusts in Northern Ireland. 

Threshold for reporting 

Children First Act 2015 Part 3 (14), (1) defines the threshold for reporting as ‘where a mandated person knows, believes or has reasonable grounds to suspect, on the basis of information that he or she has received, acquired or becomes aware of in the course of his or her employment or profession, as such a mandated person, that a child (a) has been harmed, (b) is being harmed, or (c) is at risk of being harmed, he or she shall, as soon as practicable, report that knowledge, belief or suspicion, as the case may be, to the Agency’ (Child and Family Agency). 

Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland 2017, 2.4 and Children Order (Northern Ireland) 1995 2(2) and Article 50(3) define the threshold for reporting as ‘reasonable cause to suspect that the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm’. 

Timeframes for reporting 

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. An international convention that outlines in 54 articles the fundamental rights of those aged under 18 years and the obligations of States that sign the Convention to uphold the rights it contains. 

VELM

Vos estis lux mundi is a motu proprio issued in May 2019 by Pope Francis. It established new procedural norms to combat sexual abuse and ensure that bishops and their equivalents are held accountable for their actions. 

Appendix B: Definitions of abuse in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland [5] 

Physical abuse is when someone deliberately hurts a child physically or puts them at risk of being physically hurt. It may occur as a single incident or as a pattern of incidents. A reasonable concern exists where the child’s health and/or development is, may be, or has been damaged as a result of suspected physical abuse. 

Physical abuse can include the following: 

The Children First Act 2015 includes a provision that abolishes the common law defence of reasonable chastisement in court proceedings. This defence could previously be invoked by a parent or other person in authority who physically disciplined a child. The change in the legislation now means that in prosecutions relating to assault or physical cruelty, a person who administers such punishment to a child cannot rely on the defence of reasonable chastisement in the legal proceedings. The result of this is that the protections in law relating to assault now apply to a child in the same way as they do to an adult. 


Emotional abuse is the systematic emotional or psychological ill-treatment of a child as part of the overall relationship between a caregiver and a child. Once-off and occasional difficulties between a parent/caregiver and child are not considered emotional abuse. Abuse occurs when a child’s basic need for attention, affection, approval, consistency and security are not met, due to incapacity or indifference from their parent or caregiver. Emotional abuse can also occur when adults responsible for taking care of children are unaware of, and unable (for a range of reasons) to meet, their child’s emotional and developmental needs. Emotional abuse is not easy to recognise because the effects are not easily seen. 

A reasonable concern for the child’s welfare would exist when the behaviour becomes typical of the relationship between the child and the parent or caregiver. 

Emotional abuse may be seen in some of the following ways: 

There may be no physical signs of emotional abuse unless it occurs with another type of abuse. A child may show signs of emotional abuse through their actions or emotions in several ways. These include insecure attachment, unhappiness, low self esteem, educational and developmental underachievement, risk-taking and aggressive behaviour. 

It should be noted that no one indicator is conclusive evidence of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is more likely to impact negatively on a child where it is persistent over time and where there is a lack of other protective factors. 


Sexual abuse occurs when a child is used by another person for his or her gratification or arousal, or for that of others. It includes the child being involved in sexual acts (masturbation, fondling, oral or penetrative sex) or exposing the child to sexual activity directly or through pornography. 

Child sexual abuse may cover a wide spectrum of abusive activities. It rarely involves just a single incident and, in some instances, occurs over a number of years. Child sexual abuse most commonly happens within the family, including older siblings and extended family members. 

Cases of sexual abuse mainly come to light through disclosure by the child or his or her siblings/friends, from the suspicions of an adult, and/ or through physical symptoms. It should be remembered that sexual activity involving a young person may be sexual abuse even if the young person concerned does not themselves recognise it as abusive. 

Examples of child sexual abuse include the following: 

- Inviting, inducing or coercing a child to engage in prostitution or the production of child 

- pornography (for example, exhibition, modelling or posing for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification or sexual act, including its recording on film, videotape or other media and the manipulation, for those purposes, of an image by computer or other means); inviting, coercing or inducing a child to participate in, or to observe, any sexual, indecent or obscene act 

- Showing sexually explicit material to children, which is often a feature of the ‘grooming’ process by perpetrators of abuse 

- Exposing a child to inappropriate or abusive material through information and communication technology 

- Consensual sexual activity involving an adult and an underage person 

An Garda Síochána will deal with any criminal aspects of a sexual abuse case under the relevant criminal justice legislation. The prosecution of a sexual offence against a child will be considered within the wider objective of child welfare and protection. The safety of the child is paramount and at no stage should a child’s safety be compromised because of concern for the integrity of a criminal investigation. 

In relation to child sexual abuse, it should be noted that in criminal law the age of consent to sexual intercourse is 17 years for both boys and girls. Any sexual relationship where one or both parties are under the age of 17 is illegal. However, it may not necessarily be regarded as child sexual abuse. 


Neglect occurs when a child does not receive adequate care or supervision to the extent that the child is harmed physically or developmentally. It is generally defined in terms of an omission of care, where a child’s health, development or welfare is impaired by being deprived of food, clothing, warmth, hygiene, medical care, intellectual stimulation or supervision and safety. 

Emotional neglect may also lead to the child having attachment difficulties. The extent of the damage to the child’s health, development or welfare is influenced by a range of factors. These factors include the extent, if any, of positive influence in the child’s life as well as the age of the child and the frequency and consistency of neglect. 

Neglect is associated with poverty but not necessarily caused by it. It is strongly linked to parental substance misuse, domestic violence, and parental mental illness and disability. 

A reasonable concern for the child’s welfare would exist when neglect becomes typical of the relationship between the child and the parent or caregiver. This may become apparent where you see the child over a period of time, or the effects of neglect may be obvious based on having seen the child once. 

The following are features of child neglect. 

Child abuse online 

The Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998, which is amended by Section 6 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007, makes it an offence to possess, produce, distribute, print or publish child pornography. 

[5] Children First, National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (Dublin: Department of Children and Youth Affairs, 2017). 

Northern Ireland [6]

Abuse 

Harm can be suffered by a child or young person by acts of abuse perpetrated upon them by others. Abuse can happen in any family, but children may be more at risk if their parents have problems with drugs, alcohol and mental health, or if they live in a home where domestic abuse happens. Abuse can also occur outside of the family environment. Evidence shows that babies and children with disabilities can be more vulnerable to suffering abuse. 

Although the harm from the abuse might take a long time to be recognisable in the child or young person, professionals may be in a position to observe its indicators earlier; for example, in the way that a parent interacts with their child. Effective and ongoing information sharing is key between professionals. 

Physical abuse is deliberately physically hurting a child. It might take a variety of different forms, including hitting, biting, pinching, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning or suffocating a child. 

Sexual abuse is when others use and exploit children sexually for their own gratification or gain or for the gratification of others. Sexual abuse may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside clothing. It may include non-contact activities such as involving children in the production of sexual images, forcing children to look at sexual images or watch sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via e-technology). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children. 

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child, sometimes also called psychological abuse. It can have severe and persistent adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. 

Emotional abuse may involve deliberately telling a child that they are worthless, unloved or inadequate. It may include denying a child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them, or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. Emotional abuse may involve bullying – including online bullying through social networks, online games or mobile phones – by a child’s peers. 

Exploitation is the intentional ill treatment, manipulation or abuse of power and control over a child or young person; it means taking selfish or unfair advantage of a child, young person or situation, for personal gain. 

It may manifest itself in many forms such as child labour, slavery, servitude, engagement in criminal activity, begging, claiming benefit or committing other financial fraud (not just child), or child trafficking. It extends to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation can be sexual in nature. 

Neglect is the failure to provide for a child’s basic needs, whether it be adequate food, clothing, hygiene, supervision or shelter, that is likely to result in the serious impairment of a child’s health or development. Children who are neglected often also suffer from other types of abuse. 

Child abuse online 

The Protection of Children Order (Northern Ireland) 1978, with the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, make it an offence for anyone to take, allow to be taken, possess, show, distribute or publish any indecent image of a child in Northern Ireland. For the purpose of these pieces of legislation, a child is defined as anyone aged under 18 years. 

[6] Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland, 2017. 

Canon law 

In 2019 Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter entitled Vos estis lux mundi’ (VELM) (May 2019) [revised in 2023], which updated the definitions of abuse as follows:

Art. 1 §1. These norms apply to reports regarding clerics or members of Institutes of Consecrated Life or Societies of Apostolic Life and Moderators of international associations of the faithful recognized or erected by the Apostolic See [15] concerning:

a)

— a delict against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue committed through violence or threat or through abuse of authority, or [7] by forcing someone to perform or submit to sexual acts;

— a delict against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue committed with a minor or with a person who habitually has imperfect use of reason or with a vulnerable adult [8];

— the immoral acquisition, possession, exhibition or distribution, in any way or by any means, of pornographic images of minors or of persons who habitually have imperfect use of reason [9];

the recruitment or inducement of a minor or of a person who habitually has imperfect use of reason or of a vulnerable adult to pose in a pornographic manner or to participate in real or simulated pornographic exhibitions [10];

b) conduct carried out by the subjects referred to in art. 6, consisting of actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil investigations or canonical investigations, whether administrative or penal, against one of the subjects indicated in §1 [11] regarding the delicts referred to in letter a) of this paragraph.

§2. For the purposes of these norms,

a) “minor”: means any person under the age of eighteen; equivalent to a minor is a person who habitually has imperfect use of reason [12];

b) “vulnerable adult [13]: means any person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want or otherwise resist the offence;

c) “child pornography”: means any representation of a minor, regardless of the means used, involved in explicit sexual activities, whether real or simulated, and any representation of sexual organs of minors for lewd purposes or for profit [14].

[7] Expanded definition, excludes consensual acts between adults

[8] Replaces “with a minor or a vulnerable person”, to distinguish a person (“who habitually has an imperfect use of reason”), defined as equivalent to a minor, from a person now defined as a “vulnerable adult”.

[9] Replaces “the production, exhibition, possession or distribution, including by electronic means, of child pornography, as well as by the recruitment of or inducement of a minor or a vulnerable person to participate in pornographic exhibitions;”

[10] Now a separately enumerated and expanded delict

[11] Wider scope, includes leaders of lay associations

[12] Direct rather than indirect definition of equivalence

[13] Now distinguished from a person equivalent to a minor

[14] Wider definition

[15] Extension of scope to include some moderators of international lay associations

Appendix C: Legislation, International treaties, the Irish Constitution, and Regulations underpinning the Safeguarding Children Policy

International 

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 

• The United Nations Convention on Human Rights (UNCHR) 

Republic of Ireland 

• Protected Disclosures Act 2014 amended by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 • Children First Act 2015 

• National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 

• Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998 

• The Constitution of Ireland 

Northern Ireland 

• Cooperating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland, updated August 2017 (V. 2) 

• Safeguarding Board Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 

• The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 

• Public Interest Disclosure (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (amended in October 2017) 

• The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Disclosure) 

• The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 

• Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 

Canon law 

• Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela (‘Protection of the Sanctity of the Sacraments’) 

• Vos estis lux Mundi (‘You are the Light of the World’) 

• Motu proprio (‘As a Loving Mother’) 

• Code of Canon Law (including Book VI)

Appendix D: Criteria to meet the safeguarding children policy standards 

Table 1  |  Purple

The Church body has NO ministry with children and is NOT managing cases

Table 2  |  Purple and Green

The Church body HAS ministry with children and is NOT managing cases

Table 3  |  Purple, Green and Orange

The Church body HAS ministry with children and IS managing cases

Table 4  |  Purple and Orange

The Church body has NO ministry with children and IS managing cases.

Table 1  |  Purple | No ministry with children and not managing cases 

Table 2  |  Purple and Green  |  Ministry with children but not managing cases 

Table 3  |  Purple, Green and Orange |  Ministry with children and managing cases 

Table 4  |  Purple and Orange  |  No ministry with children but managing cases