Why doesn’t the Catholic Church de-frock priests who abuse children? It’s a question that perturbs Richard Scorer as he considers the case of paedophile priest Father William Green, who taught at top Catholic school, St Bede’s College, Whalley Range.
Green admitted 27 assaults on children in his care and was jailed for six years in October 2008 for ‘systematically’ sexually abusing a string of boys over 20 years ago. But Mr Scorer, who acted for Green’s victims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford – the diocese includes St Bede’s – is concerned that Green has yet to be laicized (de-frocked).
He is also worried by a separate case involving St Bede’s. Over 50 ex pupils, led by Radio 2 folk DJ, Mike Harding, have campaigned for an apology from the Bishop of Salford, over claims that a former rector, Monsignor Thomas Duggan, sexually and mentally abused boys at the school in the 50s and 60s when it was run by the diocese.
Harding, a former pupil though not one of Duggan’s alleged victims, is angry that the apology issued by the Bishop, the Right Reverend Terence Brain, does not go far enough in condemning Duggan, who died in 1968 shortly after leaving St Bede’s for a parish in Blackburn.
This does not surprise Mr Scorer, who is head of serious injury at Manchester law firm Pannone. “I am concerned that the apology has been extremely guarded but sadly this is not unusual. These situations need a full and frank apology. We have been aware of Monsignor Duggan and his alleged abuse of pupils at St Bede’s for some time and have been in discussion with victims.”
1 comment:
Sad to say but the Manchester Evening News is run by, yes you guessed, a couple or more of old Bedians,
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