By JULIA RAVENSCROFT
THE Bishop of Liverpool paid a flying visit to William Beamont Community School on Saturday to speak to church workers and youngsters.
The Rt Rev James Jones, who has declared 2001 as 'The Year of the Child' in the diocese, addressed a conference of more than 200 people who work with children in the churches.
Bishop James spoke of the shocking neglect and tragedies surrounding some children in society, citing the horrific deaths of James Bulger, Damilola Taylor and Anna Climbe, whom he labelled 'innocent names on a roll of dishonour to our society'.
He spoke of how he has often not had time for his own children.
He said: "Like going in to say goodnight and being asked to sit on the bed for a chat and turning away with a kiss and an excuse that I have got some work to do.
"As well as examining ourselves as parents we need a major review of how our society views and treats children.
"Let the starting point be that we're all of us guilty of getting it wrong. With that as the foundation, we can look at what we ought to do together as a society."
After the bishop's address, youngsters took part in a variety of workshops throughout the rest of the day, including a keep-fit session.
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