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	Ruling Sought on Church Liability Littlehampton Gazette July 6, 2011 http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/news/regional/ruling_sought_on_church_liability_1_2838733 The High Court has been asked to rule over the liability of the Catholic Church over wrongdoings of priests in relation to a damages action concerning a late Portsmouth-based priest. Although the point to be decided arose in a damages action over alleged sex abuse by the priest, Father Wilfred Baldwin, any decision will affect other types of claims made against the Church. Mr Justice MacDuff was told by Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC, who represents the woman at the centre of the sex abuse claim, that the issue to be determined was whether the Church "can ever be vicariously liable in any situation for any tort at all". Lawyers for the alleged victim say it is the first time a court has been asked to rule on whether the "relationship between a Catholic priest and his bishop is akin to an employment relationship". The damages action was brought by a 47-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who claims she was sexually assaulted as a child by Father Baldwin, who died in 2006, at a children's home in Hampshire run by nuns. Ms Gumbel told the judge the preliminary issue was "essentially whether Father Baldwin should be treated as having been in the position of an employee" of the trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust. She said: "The preliminary issue is intended to determine an issue of wide general importance in respect of claims against the Catholic Church. "That is whether any priest carrying out his work as a Roman Catholic priest is in a position akin to an employee for the purposes of imposing vicarious liability on the relevant diocesan trustees or bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese." If the answer was "yes" then the next issue would be whether the priest was carrying out the actions complained of in circumstances which were "closely connected" with his role and/or work as a priest. If the answer was "no" there would be "no circumstances where the Roman Catholic Church is liable for the actions of one of its priests whether deliberate or careless and however closely connected those actions were to the role of priest". The hearing was adjourned until Thursday.
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