UK abuse inquiry says Catholic Church prioritised reputation over children

London, November 10

The Roman Catholic Church in Britain betrayed its ethical goal over a long time by defending those that sexually abused youngsters reasonably than caring for his or her victims, an impartial inquiry mentioned on Tuesday.

In a report, it mentioned the Church had constantly prioritised its personal fame, shifting abusive monks and monks to totally different parishes the place some continued to prey on youngsters, and resisting any exterior intervention.

“Child sexual abuse was swept under the carpet,” the report mentioned, describing “appalling” assaults together with sadistic beatings pushed by sexual gratification, typically perpetrated by deeply manipulative folks in positions of belief.

“Victims described the profound and lifelong effects of abuse, including depression, anxiety, self-harming and trust issues,” the report mentioned.

The Catholic Church acquired greater than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 cases of kid intercourse abuse in England and Wales between 1970 and 2015, and there have been greater than 100 reported allegations a 12 months since 2016. The report mentioned these figures doubtless under-estimated the size of the issue.

Lawyer David Enright, representing 20 victims who gave proof to the inquiry, mentioned the findings confirmed the Church was incapable of constructing itself a protected place for kids regardless of repeated inquiries and damning reviews.

“The Church has had many, many chances to reform and root out child abuse. It has failed,” he mentioned.

The report criticised essentially the most senior Catholic chief in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, for failing to acknowledge any private accountability or present compassion for victims in current circumstances.

Shortly after the publication of the report, Nichols mentioned he was ashamed.

“I want to say to every single person who has suffered childhood abuse in the context of the Catholic Church, I am sorry, we will work at this, we will get it better, and to do so we need your help,” he mentioned in an interview on Sky News TV.

Vatican criticised

But victims and their representatives known as for Nichols to resign.

“He has lost all moral authority and must go,” mentioned one sufferer, a former seminarian recognized solely as Frank, who gave proof to the inquiry.

The report additionally criticised the Vatican and the Apostolic Nuncio, its ambassador to the UK, for failing to offer a witness assertion to the inquiry regardless of repeated requests.

“The responses of the Holy See appear at odds with the Pope’s promise to take action on this hugely important problem,” mentioned Alexis Jay, the inquiry chair.

Asked about that, Nichols mentioned solely that the Holy See was a sovereign state and he needed to settle for its determination.

The long-lasting Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse, which is inspecting the issue throughout British establishments and society, printed related findings in regards to the Church of England on October 6.

Its report on the Catholic Church comes on the identical day that the Vatican has printed a report into disgraced ex-US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a intercourse abuser, which pointed to failings by popes, Vatican officers and senior US clerics.

Separately, the Vatican’s former ambassador to France went on trial in Paris accused of molesting 4 males. — Reuters