THE UNION of Catholic Mothers (UCM) met for their annual Spring Cou,ncil last weekend, and focused on a number of national and international issues.
The 112 delegates, representing the 1,700-member Union, gathered in Liverpool at Christ's and Notre Dame College on April 5, the date of the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St Margaret Clitherow, the Union's Patron Saint.
Child abuse, recently the subject of media attention and of educationalists' discussions, emerged as an issue of major concern for the delegates.
The UCM Welfare Officer, Mrs Shippam, told the Catholic Herald that her report on the most recent statistics of child abuse, and of the legal battles involved in proving the offence in such cases, drew a strong reaction from the Council members: they "deplored the sexual abuse of children, and plan to take steps" to combat the problem.
Other national-level issues which emerged as topics of debate were drug and alcohol abuse, the manufacturing and sale of potentially harmful children's products ,