Tim Hazelwood, ACP Leadership Team: Update on priests rights to personal information held on Diocesan files.
Coyne Diocese recently set out its Privacy Policy for Clergy to all priests and deacons (see below). For the past three years I have sought clarification on the rights of priests to access their personal information held on diocesan (or religious order) files. Many priests might prefer not to know what is in it! That’s fair enough but sadly, the experience of others, myself included, who have tried to get information or access to our files, has been frustrating and never completely successful.
Only after years of raising the issue has Cloyne Diocese released the Privacy Policy for Clergy. How many other dioceses (religious orders) have done so? Or could it be that the Cloyne document is a ‘standard Church document’ that has been adopted by all dioceses and religious orders?
There are still areas of concern. Letters of complaint are ‘filed’ but these might contain inaccurate information or downright lies. Some are unsigned, anonymous. Yet, all this information is retained without comment or correction and available to whoever has access to the file, today or in the future, even after the priest in question is long dead.
There is no formal Complaint Procedure in dioceses, yet letters of complaint are ‘processed’ by the data controller, the Bishop, without any reference to the accused party. This is totally unjust.
In Catholic schools this is not the case. An internal Complaints Procedure exists which means a fair, just and agreed way of proceeding is in place, one which I am sure was negotiated by the teaching unions with the Irish Bishops. No such complaints agreement or procedure exists for priests. As a result of not having an agreed procedure many of the ‘Rights’ that are mentioned in the Privacy Document are rendered useless.
When my request for my file was eventually granted the information I received was heavily redacted. Not being able to gain access to all the information means that any hope of Rectification, Restriction or Withdrawal is impossible. Who does this protect?
Why be bothered about what is in your file? I believe in natural justice and in the interests of fairness we, as priests, are entitled to the same treatment as teachers in our Catholics schools. The reality also is that priests files may contain inaccurate information that might prejudice how a priest is perceived when those files are accessed during or after the lifetime of the priest.
There is also concern over the Retention Period of files. It seems to be a grey area. We need clarity.
A recent disturbing development has been the naming of 14 deceased Jesuit priests by the Order after examining their files. Those men could not defend their names, neither could they enter into a Complaints Procedure. Who knows if all the information on their files is accurate? Were their next of kin informed before any announcement was made?
We are requesting a Complaints Procedure to be put in place which allows the Diocese to process the information/data they receive but which also respects the rights of the individual priest.
What is the experience in other dioceses? In religious orders?
Cloyne Privacy Policy for Clergy: